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Divine Urgings
Luke 1:26-47
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
(KJV)
The first chapter of the Book of Luke comes from death to life. The first colorful character mentioned is an elderly man and his equally elderly wife. His name was Zacharias, a priest who ministered in the temple. His wife’s’ name was Elizabeth, and it is said of them in the New Testament, chapter one of Luke, “…they were righteous before the Lord.“ They were truly blameless. Then the scripture went on to say, “…they had walked in all the commandments of the Lord.“ Now you take that great recommendation and put it over against Saul who waited on Samuel and said “That old priest is behind the times, give me that lamb and I’m going to put it on the alter and offer it myself!” Then when he saw Samuel coming down the road, he put on the garment of a hypocrite and said, “Praise the Lord, Samuel,!” Samuel said to him, “Why are you so happy?” Saul said, “We have done the will of the Lord today!” Saul had not done all the will of God. He had let some of the Amalakites go that God had said to utterly destroy, and now he was trying to cover it up by the testimony of his own personal purity. God could not say that he had done all the commandments of the Lord. How many of you would stand up right now and say that you have done everything that God had ever told you to do? We would don the garment of a hypocrite if we were to do that! There are sins of omission and there are sins of commission.
So, the Bible says that they had done all the commandments of the Lord. Poor old Zacharias, he reminds me so much of a denominational pastor, or a dry, dead, overly organized, and superbly programized church. You know, those kind of churches where you put on the schedule just what you are going to sing and preach. The Bible said,
“Zacharias went into the temple and he did according to the order of his course…”
Poor old fellow, he could close his eyes and do what he was supposed to do! He could have his mind on the fishing bank and do what he was supposed to do! It had been 400 years since the Lord had blessed the people! It had been 400 years since the prophet had prophesied, and darkness covered the land! Herod was reigning on the throne and apostasy was the order of the day! Religion had clasped hands with tyranny and God had been forsaken. Nobody had prophesied! Nobody had heard from God! Nobody had received a blessing! Think about it; 400 years without a shout! We can’t hardly stand it 4 days without a shout! I’m talking about 400 years without God moving upon the hearts of people! So when you went to church in a time and era like that, all you could do was go according to the course! The Bible said, “….He did according as the custom was.” What a schedule! A lot of folks like that kind of service! They are dead when they come to service, they are dead while they are there, and they are dead when they leave service! Nobody upsets them, they never get under conviction, they are not inspired, they are not discouraged, they are not encouraged, they’re not built up, nor put down, they’re just there! They are numb! They are dead! They come and go! They come dead! they stay dead! They leave dead! They are just dead! It’s no wonder sometimes; the preachers dead, the singers are dead, the secretary has got dollar signs in their eyes! I am trying to say that custom has no place, and is not the answer for the move of God that is in the world today!
Verse 11 of Luke 1 is one of the greatest verses in all the Bible. It said, “…And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord…..!” You have to remember, 400 years, no angel, no shout, no God, no life, and all of a sudden Zacharias sees and angel of the Lord standing beside him! Zacharias was afraid and the angel of the Lord said, “Fear not, behold thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son……!” He was saying, “Zach, old boy, don’t you ever go to doubting your potency, this boy is going to be yours!” The angel said, “….and shall call his name John, and many shall rejoice at his birth!” “He’s going to be a light, and he is going to be a fore-runner, and the world is going to be changed!” Something is beginning to happen, there is a stirring in the earth, the Old Testament is a has-been! A new day has arrived! Zacharias said, “Whereby shall I know that this thing will happen?” That’s all he asked! The angel said, “Thou shalt be stricken dumb because thou didst not believe my words!“
I don’t think that we have even the remotest idea of how sensitive the work of God really is! The Bible says, “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God!” Ladies and gentlemen, I didn’t say, “Grieving the fleshly son of God.” I know the Jesus hurts as the body. This says, “Grieve not the spirit!” We have two separate wills here, the flesh and the spirit! I believe that the spirit can be grieved! All it takes is just a little doubt over here, and a little skepticism over there, a word of criticism, and after a while the spirit withdraws and leaves. But tonight we are in the channel! Divine urgings are moving the very depths of us! We are coming out of the schedule of things, out of customs and rituals! We are sick and tired of the routine and the regular! We want a revival!
Back to Zach! The great multitude was gathered outside at the burning of the incense and when the door opened and Zacharias came out, they said to him, “Why have you been in there so long?” He could not answer them, he was stricken dumb! Couldn’t say a word! You see folks, this was the beginning of the new testament miracles! Zacharias goes home and he still does according to the customs.
After five months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, on the sixth month, the angel appeared to Mary, a virgin, and said, “Hail, thou that are highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women………..and, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus!“
You know, Isaiah wanted to know that name so bad! And he picked up the quill and started writing, and he said, “….and His name shall be called, Wonderful, (and it was), Counselor, (and He was), the Mighty God, (and He was), the Everlasting Father, (and He was), the Prince of Peace, (and He was),……” But the prophet wept, rolled up the scroll, packed it in a cave, and God never told him His name.
Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night long till the dawn, and morning broke, the Lord said, “Turn me loose.“ Jacob said, “I’m not going to let you go until you bless me!” “Not only that, but you’re going to tell me what your name is!“ God said, “No way, Jacob, that’s a secret!” “I’m saving that for my church!“
Moses wanted that name when he went down to confront Pharaoh. God said, “Just tell them the I Am sent you down there!“ If you need a healer, “I Am!” If you need a Saviour, “I Am!” Whatever you need, “I Am!” Not: I was, or; I will be, but I Am right now!
The angel said, “…thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shall call His name, (and it was said for the first time by an angel), Jesus!“ Hear it devil, that’s your death song! Hear it devil, that name is going to bring a church into existence! The Holy ghost is going to move through that name! The blood answers to that name! The Holy Ghost answers to that name! Say the name Jesus, and it will all happen!
“…The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end!“ Gamaliel had it right, “Leave it alone, if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it, lest haply ye be found fighting God…!” Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “…..Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it!” Will! Will! Will!
I like I Corinthians 1:2, then 7-8,
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I like I Thessalonians 5:18-23,
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Quench not the Spirit.
Despise not prophesyings.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;
and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Joseph says to Mary, “Where are you going?” She says, “You just stay here Joseph, I’m going over to talk to cousin Elizabeth for awhile.” She made the journey, got over in the hill country, walked up on the porch, and knocked on the door. Old Zacharias opened the door and motioned for her to come in. He still couldn’t talk. Elizabeth sees her and says, “Come on in Mary, have I got something to tell you!” “I was barren all of my life, and the Lord’s angel promised my husband Zacharias that I would bear a son. Now I am expecting a son, and he shall be the fore-runner of the Saviour!” Mary said, “Honey, you ain’t heard nothing yet!” “You had better sit down for this one Lizzie!” “I don’t meant to sound like I’m trying to top your story, Lizzie, but, the Holy Ghost has moved upon me, and the power of the Highest has overshadowed me, and the child that is in me is of the Holy Ghost!” No man was involved! I’m talking about the work of the Holy Ghost!
Now there are two things that God expects us to do when we feel that unexplainable, undeniable urging down within us. First; read it right! When you become discontent, it doesn’t always mean you are a rebel! When you come dissatisfied with the status quo, that doesn’t mean you are a trouble maker! When you can’t sleep at night, and the spirit urges you, and prompts you, that doesn’t mean that you are sick or ill! It means that God is moving upon us! He is wanting us to get up and pray. Not only that, but sometimes to pray for somebody you don’t like! He wants you to go on an extended fast! We need to be sensitive to what God is wanting us to do!
Have we become so acclimated to this world, so carnal and denominational, that if God moves on us to do something a little unusual, we won’t be able to do it, because we don’t usually do it that way? Don’t misunderstand that moving in your soul. You’re not rebellious, it’s just that God is shaking us, He is moving us, we cannot afford to remain the same! Something has got to change us! We need to move on! The river flows on! Nothing stops! If we stop, we stagnate!
Ladies and gentlemen, there is another thing here! Not only do you have an obligation to read the urging within you aright, but you must learn as Mary and Elizabeth did, to praise God for that which has not been born yet! Elizabeth said, “Mary, as thy salutation sounded upon my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!” There was a moving of the yet unborn! There was an urging of the divine embryo!
Jeremiah the prophet knew all about this. He said in Jeremiah 20:14-17,
Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
Hey folks, this is nothing funny, this is powerful! I’m going to tell you, when a mother is expecting, there is one thing that has to happen! She has to give birth, or they both die! Jeremiah went on to describe it in minute detail! God Almighty knows that I speak the truth when I speak of barren alters, pulpit pressure, people pleasers, I’m talking about very few people in some churches that ever receive the Holy Ghost, I’m talking about the water all scummed over and stagnate in the baptistry, baptistry robes molded and mildewed from non-use! If you don’t give birth to the babies that are conceived in the church, the church and the baby is going to die! Now let me tell you why this is the truth1
There are some people, that it is better that they are not born! Jeremiah wasn’t that way, he just had a wrong slant on some things here. A pastor friend was called on to bury an infant back some yeas ago. It was a tragic thing, as all of these things go, but what set this apart a little from the rest was that this infant had been abandoned and all they had was a last name. The mortician leaned over to the preacher at the end of the graveside service as they lowered that little casket into the earth, and asked him, “Pastor, what shall we put on this child’s headstone?” “We have no first name, this child was abandoned!” The preacher thought for a moment and then said, “I’ll tell you what to put in lieu of a name, just put on that marker, ‘God Knows’ because He really does!”
It’s better that some backsliders are never born. The Bible says that if you get rid of one demon, and he goes out and gets Fight, and Fight gets Lust, and Lust meets Hatred, and Hatred meets Jealousy, and they all gang up and come back and the last state of that man is worse than the former! Like a hog returning to his wallow, like a dog returning and licking up his stinking vomit!
Gal. 4:4, Paul said, “Ye have been begotten by the word…” I’m telling you that the preaching from this pulpit has begotten souls that we don’t even know about, and if we don’t give birth to them, the church and the baby is going to die! They must be brought forth! When Paul said that ye are begotten by the word, that didn’t mean a bunch a preachers supposed to turn their collars backwards, and go all over the country saying “Father” “Father” “Father” I’m talking about something deeper than that! Something more powerful than that! I’m talking about the preaching of the Word of God! Nothing makes me sicker than a bunch of men in the Vatican, old men, about eighty years old, walking around in dresses, never been married, and talking about birth control! They don’t know what they are talking about! “Ye are begotten by the Word!”
Then after you are begotten, you have to be born! The begotten soul comes down front and says, “Shake my hand, pastor, I’m saved!” Or somebody says, “Bet baptized?” “Huh-uh, I don’t think so, I might get wet!” “Why it will mess my mascara up, and I will have to go back to the beauty shop!” I heard about one man that jumped into the baptistry with a $400 dollar suit on, watch, billfold, belt and all. He said he wanted it all baptized!
You are born again of the water and of the spirit! I could no more believe in two baptisms, than I could believe in two Gods. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:5, “There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism.“ I don’t believe that your water baptism is complete without the spirit, and I don’t believe that spirit baptism is complete without water! Jesus said that you are born, (one birth), of water and spirit. It takes the water and the spirit to make one baptism!
Back to Elizabeth and Mary. Get the picture! Here are two expectant mothers, got over there on the couch and lifted their hands and said, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour!” “What are you ladies praising God so much for?” “You don’t have any babies.” “No, but we are praising God for that embryonic movement!” “We are praising god for what He’s going to do!” You are a backslidden people if all you can do is praise God for what He has done and what He is doing! You need to praise Him for what He’s going to do! “My soul doth magnify the Lord!” “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour!” The baby is on the way! We need to learn to praise Him for what He’s going to do!
You need to learn to praise God for what this church is going to be, not what it has been or what it even is! Praise Him for church every night of the week! Praise Him for the police required to direct traffic out here! Praise Him for traffic jams on Sunday! Praise Him for not enough seating capacity! Praise Him for not enough parking room! Praise Him for the cancers that are going to fall off! Praise Him for the cripples that are going to walk! Praise Him for the financial miracles that He is going to do! Praise Him for the revival you’re going to have! Praise Him for the loved ones that He is going to save! It’s already been begotten by the Word, we’re just waiting for the birth and praising god for the embryonic movement! They’re out there! Think of it mama, your son is coming in! Think or it daddy, your daughter is coming to God!
John was born, Jesus was born, and God moved on an old man! Simeon went into the temple that day. It was business as usual! Maybe he dismissed his bible class a little earlier that day, the boys just a little distracted and restless. Simeon rolled out the scroll and walked into the outer court with the glory of divine expectancy in his soul, a divine urging! That’s the only man I ever read about, that couldn’t die until a certain thing happened. Every time he had a chest pain, he just said, “That’s not a heart-attack, I haven’t seen Him yet!” Every time he had a head-ache he said, “That’s not a stroke, I haven’t seen Him yet!” He starts throwing up and a voice says cancer. He says, “Can’t be, I haven’t seen Him yet!” “Thou shalt not see death, until thou has seen the Lord’s Christ!” What a promise to live with!
So he went in there this day, it seemed, with expectancy in his soul, divine urgency in the air, and of a sudden he heard a muted cry! This man had been burdened, he looked at the sick in there, I can see him day after day saying, “Oh God, isn’t it bout time for the deliverer to come?” Isn’t it about time we produced what we are preaching about? That muted cry struck a chord in his heart. He walks over to a Rabbi and says, “Uh, who is that over there?” The Rabbi answers, “That country man over there is Joseph and the pretty lady beside him with the baby, is his wife Mary.” Simeon says, “Do you have any idea what they named their baby?” “Yes,” the Rabbi replies, “They named him Jesus!” You talk about heart palpitations, this old man had them! He had arrived! All of a sudden while he waited, the rabbinical choir began to gather on the broad looping stairways of the inner court. The musicians sounded the trumpets, and the singers began to sing, and Simeon’s imagination ran wild! If you think my imagination is running wild, just leave me alone, I’m having fun! Simeon imagines he is hearing David sing a Psalm, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein, he hath founded it upon the seas and he hath established it upon the flood, who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart! He that delivereth not his soul to vanity, nor hath sworn deceitfully! Lift up your heads O ye gates! Be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors! And the King of Glory shall come in!” He imagines that he hears Isaiah singing Isaiah 9:6. He hears him talk about it in the song about the lamb led to the slaughter and opened not his mouth, and with his stripes we are healed. Simeon is in church and something big is about to happen now! All of a sudden he hear some coins dropped in the temple offering. Out of curiosity he counts them, “Two dollars, three dollars, fifty dollars, three dollars and fifty cents,” The old man says, “Who’s that for?” “That’s the tax on Jesus!” “Why, think of it. The cattle on a thousand hills belong to that baby!” then he was brave enough to go over to them. He bowed down and said, “My name is Simeon, I would beg to hold thy baby.” Mary looks at Joseph, he nods his approval, and they lay the weight of the 40 day old Son of God, into the hands of this dear, old, tired patriarch who had responded to the divine urgings of the spirit and was at the right place at the right time! He said something here that touches me. As he held Jesus, he lifted up his head, tears coursing down his swarthy cheeks, and says, “Lord, let now thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. A light to light the gentiles, and is to be a glory to thy people Israel.” He looked at Mary and said, “A sword shall pierce thy heart..!” I don’t have time to go into it all, but that sword that pierced the heart of Mary was when Jesus lived long enough for Him to disown his own mother and call her “woman” and to give her away at Calvary in order that He might give her the baptism of the Holy Ghost!
The church has come to a time when we are beginning to pray for the Lord to come again! I don’t know about you, but I am homesick for Heaven! The Bible says that the day will come when we will pray, “…Even so come quickly Lord Jesus!” I am not saying that the Lord is going to come tonight. I am not going to box myself in. The calendar doesn’t matter, I just know He’s coming again, someday! He’s coming again and the church is ready! Where are we? We are with Abraham, guarding the sacrifice on the altar. The fowl of modernism and worldliness comes in and we drive them away. It’s evening time and a smoking furnace and a burning lamp is passing through that smoke. We are with Elijah on the top of Mt. Carmel, praying for another revival. “God, Send the fire!” We are with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the fiery furnace and the world watches us as we burn. But not a hair of our head is singed. We are passing through! We are with Paul and Silas in the inner prison, waiting for the bars to fall down and the doors to fly open. The midnight hour, the bridegroom will come. We will drop this garment of flesh. I like the song that said, “This robe of flesh, I’ll drop and rise, and I’ll seize the everlasting prize, I’ll shout while traveling through the air, farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”
We are with the Israelites going through the Red Sea. The waters of apostasy on the left, and the arms race on the right! One day the last throbbing feet of the saints of God will step out on the other side, and those arms will clash with an ungodly religion. I feel a divine urging that is telling me that this thing is just about over!
Ps 42:1-11
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks,
so panteth my soul after thee,
O God.“
“My soul thirsteth for God,
for the living God:
when shall I come and appear before God?“
“My tears have been my meat day and night,
while they continually say unto me,
Where is thy God?“
“When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul in me:
for I had gone with the multitude,
I went with them to the house of God,
with the voice of joy and praise,
with a multitude that kept holyday.“
“Why art thou cast down,
O my soul?
and why art thou disquieted in me?
hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.“
“O my God,
my soul is cast down within me:
therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan,
and of the Hermonites,
from the hill Mizar.
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts:
all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.“
“Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime,
and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.“
“I will say unto God my rock,
Why hast thou forgotten me?
why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?“
“As with a sword in my bones,
mine enemies reproach me;
while they say daily unto me,
Where is thy God?“
“Why art thou cast down,
O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?
hope thou in God:
for I shall yet praise him,
who is the health of my countenance,
and my God.“
