The Excitement of a New Birth

CHRISTMAS

Part 1: The Excitement of a New Birth

David W. Palmer

How Do We Know that God is Excited about Evangelism?

(Luke 1:26–28 NKJV) … the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

All the fathers I know have been deliriously happy and beside themselves with excitement when their [first] baby was born. Some even used to throw parties and hand out cigars. Today, we see evidence of God being overjoyed at the birth of his Son, Jesus; and we are assured that he is just as excited over the birth of every new born believer into his family today.

1. He told Mary to Rejoice

As we read in our opening passage today, God told Mary to rejoice at the news of her pregnancy. This was despite the awkward situation it put her in—being an unwed, but engaged, mother in a very strict society. God wanted her happy and rejoicing like him—not sad, worried, and frightened as her human culture would have her. In the same way, God is excited about the birth of his children today—even though evangelising some people can be a bit awkward … even dangerous.

We note that God’s Instruction via the Angel was essentially important and helpful for Mary; but they would have been opposite to how she would have felt once she was “found” to be pregnant. After all, what would her parents say? How would Joseph have responded? What about the town elders, etc.? How would they have wanted to deal with her? Her teenage emotions may have had her on a rollercoaster ride of ups and down. But God gave her some rock solid instructions and promises that she could believe, hold onto, stand on, and confess:

Tell her to “rejoice.”

Tell her she is “highly favored.”

Tell her, “The Lord is with you.”

Tell her she is “blessed.”

If someone asked her, “How are you Mary?” She could now respond with joy: I’m “blessed and highly favoured; the Lord is with me.” I encourage you to make this your confession today; and begin to rejoice over the imminent new births for God’s family, about which he is so excited.

I believe that God gave Mary these instructions and promises because this was how he was feeling about the birth of his firstborn then, and it is how he is feeling about the highly anticipated birth of a multitude of babies into his family today.

This was God’s Instruction because:

He was rejoicing

He was going to have a baby!

He wasn’t handing out cigars … He was conferring blessing and favour

He wanted rejoicing and celebration

PROPHETIC:

God is excited about imminent evangelism—leading to new babies for his family today and in the immediate future. He is rejoicing about it.

All who follow his plan will feel his excitement and joy; he doesn’t want us sad and depressed when he is overjoyed. What’s more, our loving Father wants to fortify us with his presence, promises, and joyful confessions. He knows that some evangelism is challenging, even dangerous, and attracts some negative responses from onlookers—even leading to unprovoked persecution.

Yet, despite the awkward moments and difficulties surrounding the births, he will again provide:

Holy Spirit reassurance

Angelic help

His manifested presence—God with us

Favour, favour, favour

And lots of rejoicing—new songs, new music, new people

2. He Led Joseph to Commit to His Family Plan:

(Matthew 1:19–21 NKJV) Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. {20} But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. {21} And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

To get Joseph to follow and participate fully in his plan for the birth of his son, Father led him effectively. He sent an angel with a message of reassurance. With love, he told him to not fear—“Do not be afraid”; perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). The Father comforted Joseph with his manifest presence—which accompanied the angelic visitation. He gave Joseph a word in the Spirit—of assurance and instruction; and he laid for Joseph a firm foundation for his family plan with the written word:

(Matthew 1:22–23 NKJV) So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: {23} “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Joseph, because of his worshipful humility, committed himself to Father’s family plan. What’s more, he preserved the Father’s claim to the virgin birth; despite marrying Mary, he did not know her until the child was born … amazing:

(Matthew 1:24–25 NKJV) Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, {25} and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

PROPHETIC APPLICATION:

Joseph represents mature people in the church today—elders, leaders, etc.:

They understand responsibility

They understand ramifications and risk

They have understandable fears—that come with experience and responsible maturity

Perhaps the Joseph-type of leaders, elders, and mature people today understand that new salvations mean change and growth. They realise that this can bring a strain on resources, call for facility enlargement, which equals greater costs; and that it means that new wine will begin to form in the current wineskin. With the fresh fermentation this brings in the congregation, this leads to inner pressure and stress on everyone—which could break the wineskin if not given the proper care and leadership. Yes, the Joseph-type people are needed today; they thoughtfully count the cost of building. But God has a way of reassuring and leading them into his plan.

God will take the time to lovingly allay your fears about the future and about his plan. He will cover and protect you in the risks … as long as you stay obedient to him. Father will show you a complete foundation and confirmation in the word about what he wants to do:

His family plan for new babies

His pressing enthusiasm for new births

His dream for worldwide evangelism

Today, I encourage you, whether your response to God’s vision for new babies is like Mary’s instant agreement and rejoicing—diving fully into God’s family plan before even knowing the full consequences personally. Or whether your response is like Joseph’s—calmly thinking it through and weighing up the ramifications and costs—God has a way to lead you into your role in what he wants you to do. He will reassure you with his manifest presence, a word in the spirit, a confession to hold to, and a solid foundation in his written word … line upon line, precept upon precept.

Without doubt, Father is just as excited about new births for his family today as he was about the birth of Jesus. And he wants you to fulfil your part in it with joy, rejoicing, assurance, and a rock solid scriptural foundation.