Christmas – the God of the Impossible

Luke, chapter 1, verse 46. “Then Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because He has looked upon the lowliness of His servant. For behold, from now on all nations, all generations, will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has done great things for me; holy is His name, and His mercy is from generation to generation toward those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, brought down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped Israel, His servant, remembering the mercy of which He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.’ Amen.

Let us begin with verses 46 and 47. “Then Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies—say, “My soul magnifies”—my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’” This passage, my brothers and sisters, is known as the Magnificat, which is the Latin word for that first word you see in this song of Mary. It is also known as Mary’s song. Mary’s song. Magnificat is merely the Latin for “my soul magnifies.” And this song of Mary is compared to Hannah’s song when she received word that she was going to conceive Samuel. It is also compared to Miriam’s song when Moses’ sister and the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground.

In fact, today we sang part of that song of Miriam. He cast into the sea the one who pursued us… and the Word says that my sister sang it with a tambourine in her hand and a little Pentecostal hop. Miriam singing, “He cast into the sea the one who pursued us; rider and horse He cast into the sea. He cast Pharaoh’s chariots into the sea.” Hey, hey. I could not resist.

It is compared to that. It is a song—this song of Mary, this Magnificat, is a song of victory. It is a song of war, and if God has visited you, if He has rescued you, if the hand of God has been upon you, then you have already raised your own song of victory and deliverance to the Lord. You are going to recognize many phrases here and say, “But I have said that to the Lord. That is precisely what has passed through my life and across my lips.” It is no coincidence, because the idea is to reproduce Miriam’s song and have it spread from every pair of lips that exalts the name of Jesus.

If you have not experienced that advent, that coming of the power of God upon your life, that redemption by a saving God for your life—if you have not experienced it—may God grant that when you leave here today, you will know your own song of victory. God grant that there not be a single soul today to whom the Lord does not give their own song, in the name of Jesus.

Verse 48: “Because He has looked upon the lowliness of His servant.” Let us stay there for a while. What does Mary mean here? That from His throne, the Lord looks and sees and takes notice of our lowliness. From His throne, He looks, He sees, He takes notice of our lowliness—not only that of the human race in general, but of you and me as individuals. He is able to see a congregation and to see you sitting in the pew or in the balconies, and to hear your voice amid the crowd.

By the way, God does not create lowliness. God, exalted and sublime, is not in the business of creating lowliness. The psalmist sang, “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? You have made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor.” Where, then, does this lowliness come from? Satan has usurped the earth. In fact, our ancestors in the Garden of Eden handed over the keys and opened the door for him, and ever since then, from that moment on, Satan has usurped the earth. It did not belong to him, and now entire institutions—governments, public schools, universities, financial institutions—are invaded by his hosts and are under his influence. He dares, and with reason, to call himself the prince of this world.

You tell me: How can there be peace when Satan has a strategic demon over Boston, another strategic demon reporting to him over the Boston school district headquarters, and another demon assigned only to Curley, only to English High School, only to Muñiz—and under all that influence are we, you and I, our children? How can there be peace?

I know that many of us have felt the influence of that captivity. It does not take great spirituality to realize that things are not going the way they should. There is an uneasiness in the human soul that, no matter how unconverted and secular we may be, tells us something: something is off frequency, something is out of tune, this is not normal, this injustice is not normal, this brokenness is not normal. What is happening to me is not normal, even though it has happened to me, even though it happened to my father, even though it happened to my grandfather, even though it has been this way for generations. Something tells us—and that something is the Spirit of God within you—“Wake up. This is not normal.”

You are living in captivity and do not even realize it. But God sees our captivity. He sees our invisibility. He hears our cry. The Word says that He hears the cry of prisoners, whether it comes from a shelter, from the foot of the bed of your child, brother, or loved one in the hospital’s intensive care unit—as we prayed for the child Jesús on the first day of Advent—or from a cell in a cold prison, or while driving a truck, an Uber, or a bus, or from your factory or office, swallowing your tears, convinced that no one hears you and no one sees you. Through Advent, through Christmas, God promises you this—the point is this: “I hear you.” From His throne He says, “I hear you, and I am coming for you all, and I am coming for you. I am coming to your rescue.”

The promise of Advent is that God is coming, the Messiah is coming, His Anointed One is coming to our rescue. And throughout the Old Testament there are literally thousands of Scriptures pointing to this same promise again and again, reminding the people of Israel, “Your Redeemer is coming. Do not despair. He is coming. He has not forgotten you.” Among the thousands of Scriptures you can read, you know Isaiah 9: “But there will not always be”—it seems that this will last forever, that your life will always be the same, but He promises—“there will not always be darkness for the one who is now in anguish. The people who walked in darkness saw a great light. Upon those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, light shone. For You broke his heavy yoke, the rod upon his shoulder, and the scepter of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian,” referring to Gideon.

Brothers and sisters, if you came in here with a yoke, if you came in here with the oppressor’s rod upon your back, it is not normal, and it is not the life God wants for you—whether it is an addiction, a flaw in your character, a marriage that is about to die, or a child you are about to lose. The Lord has the power to break that yoke. And the Lord promises you that this is His priority, because every boot worn by the warrior in the tumult of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned, fuel for the fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. The dominion, the government, the kingdom, the ultimate authority will be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Hopelessness, the lack of hope, is one of Satan’s main weapons. You have heard his whispers: “God does not—God does not hear you. God has forgotten you. You are worth nothing to God. Deny your God and die.” Satan fights to bring you to that point of despair, but Christmas is proof that God sees us, that God takes us into account.

As the time of His coming, His advent, approaches, He sends His angels with that message—and not just any angel, but Gabriel. Do you know what Gabriel means? The mighty one of Jehovah, the warrior of Jehovah. An angel armed to the teeth, a “Don’t mess with me” angel—that is whom the Lord sent on that assignment. Because God seeks and reveals Himself to those—to that handful of heroes such as Abraham and Moses, Gideon, Daniel, Esther, Mary. And I am hesitant to name them, but I am doing so because I know them: those who dare to believe the Word of God and the promise of God despite the circumstances surrounding them. And while Satan tells you, “He forgot you. No one can save you from this one. Deny your God and die,” the Lord says, “I am coming for you. I have not forgotten you. I see your lowliness. I am coming to your rescue.”

Continuing in verse 48: “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.” And when Jesus comes, this is what He does. What does God do when He arrives? When Jesus comes, when Advent arrives, this is what He begins to do: first of all, everything changes for you. And not only for you, but also for the generations that will follow you.

On Friday night—I will mention this again later—we had a beautiful vigil led by our brothers and sisters from Alpha, and one of the most beautiful parts of that vigil was the testimonies of the brothers and sisters who spoke about how they arrived here under difficult circumstances and how now their children are studying, and how God reproduces and extends His grace.

My brothers and sisters, God is not coming only for you. He is not merely concerned with intervening in your situation or your problem. He sees you as the mother or father of a generation, regardless of your age or your circumstances. Take my grandfather Ventura coming to the Lord—the Acevedos of Santurce. If the mayor of Santurce knew the Acevedos, it was not for anything good. I heard that Grandpa loved games of chance; he loved gambling. My father told us that Grandpa would take Daddy out of school at the age of eight to sell lottery tickets on street corners. My father was the dealer for the Fanguito neighborhood in Santurce—the lottery dealer. And there came a point when my grandfather found himself so deeply in debt—he would have said, in good Puerto Rican fashion, up to his nose in trouble—that he decided to commit suicide.

That is how Daddy told it. And on the day he decided to do it, he turned on the radio, looking for a radio program called “Yesterday That Sings,” or something like that. And he stumbled upon an evangelist, a radio program. That is why we have to pray for the pastor. Many brothers and sisters are here because of the church’s radio program, yes or no? Grandpa heard that radio program, knelt down, and received Jesus at that moment, in 1948. From there he dragged Daddy to church by the ear, and Mommy followed him. Here is the story: Grandpa’s children, Grandpa’s grandchildren, Grandpa’s great-grandchildren. I never once in my life heard Grandpa preach or testify, but his children became pastors; his grandchildren—he has a granddaughter who has been a missionary in Paraguay for the last 35 years. That granddaughter’s daughter, his great-granddaughter, is the one who directs the Assemblies of God missionary ministries in Springfield for Europe and Asia, including Kyrgyzstan.

Rachel Di Trolio, whom many of you know, has a grandson who is a pastor and a lawyer and is in Boston this morning preaching the Gospel. I bless my grandfather Ventura. My brothers and sisters, I do not know how difficult a time you are going through right now, but the Lord’s promises are that generations will call me blessed. Generations will say, “Because of him, because of her, I came to Jesus. Because of him, because of her, I am blessed.” And I am already seeing it. But notice: what the Lord is intent on doing—and He will do it today if you allow Him—is canceling the curse.

If there has been a curse in your family line, I declare in the name of Jesus: no one has studied, no one has been faithful to his wife, everyone has been foul-mouthed and a drunkard—but you can say, “It ends here.” You can say, “It ends with me.” And with you, as with Abraham, a chain of blessing begins. That branch breaks free from the tree; a vine begins, fruit begins to sprout, and from that sap fruit will spread throughout all your family lines—to those who follow you and to your ancestors, your parents, your grandparents—because God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. They will be blessed because of you. Generations will call me blessed.

Verse 49: “Because the Mighty One has done great things for me; holy is His name, and His mercy is from generation to generation toward those who fear Him.” What did God do that would cause generations to call Mary blessed? In some ways, what God did with and for Mary was unique. That must be established. She was chosen for the sensitive mission of bringing into the world the baby who would be the Messiah incarnate.

The Lord did not choose just anyone. As I read this passage, I realized who Mary was. And she reminds me of many of you. She may have been a teenager, but she was one tough lady. Faithful. The Lord was not merely asking her to carry this child and see Him born; the Lord was asking her to watch Him die. Do you want that assignment? What He did with her was unique. Only her.

But in other ways, what God did for her He does for all of us. In other ways—that is, He does it for those who make themselves available, those who are willing for Him to do it. Look, let us go to verse 34 of that same chapter:

“Then Mary said to the angel, to Gabriel, ‘How will this be, since I do not know a man?’” In other words, there is no way for life—there is no way for anything new, there is no way for anything good—to be born from me. Have you ever said such a thing? “There is no way for anything good—there is no way for life—to spring from me, to come out of me. How will this be?”

“The angel answered her and said”—and this is what the Holy Spirit can do for you if you are willing—“‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One who will be born will also be called the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren, because nothing is impossible for God.’

You have entered the realm of the impossible today. You have crossed the magical veil into an invisible place; when you cross the threshold of this sanctuary and come to this place, you have passed through the veil of the temple. Now the impossible becomes very real. God has done the same with many here. God will do the same for you if you allow him. For those who fear him, it says there, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Life springs forth from the barren areas of our lives; hearts that stopped feeling and dreaming long ago begin to beat. Eyes that have long been incapable of vision begin to see. Drooping hands are raised; they begin to worship the Lord, receive grace, receive anointing, and reach out and create.

And from you will come a holy being who is God’s creation through you. Life, blessing that God brings into the world through you, an assignment bearing your name. Life that the Lord has set apart, which will not come into this world except through you; but he has set it apart for you because nothing is impossible for God.

Verse 51: “Through you God will perform mighty deeds. Do you believe it? He performed mighty deeds with his arm; he scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts, removed the powerful from their thrones, exalted the humble, filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

What is happening here, Pastor Samuel? The last thing Satan wants is for a race of beings begotten by the Holy Spirit to be born. That was God’s plan. Satan, by the way, detests Christmas. Satan’s nightmare is the memory of that blessed manger and what came out of it. I am sure he fired the demon in charge of Bethlehem. The Lord knew the demon in charge of Bethlehem, and during the nap of the demon covering Bethlehem, Jesus was born there; the sailors and the paratroopers arrived there. Satan, it’s over. The invasion began.

The last thing he wants is that: beings begotten by the Holy Spirit. The body of Christ is a threat to his kingdom, because with his arm the Holy Spirit will perform mighty deeds through you, canceling the curse in the world around you, and not only within you, reclaiming for the Kingdom of God entire regions claimed by Satan. Speaking of spiritual warfare, look again at verse 52: “He removed the powerful from their thrones and exalted the humble.” Yes, it makes sense in earthly terms—governments, legislators, the justice system, the president, the governor, the mayor—but here “the powerful” also refers to spiritual princes.

Paul warns us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, as it says in Ephesians 6, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly realms. And they—those powerful ones, those principalities—in turn influence those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts and sit in places of influence: public schools, inseminating satanic doctrines into the minds of our children; legislators enacting policies and laws, institutionalizing injustice, whether concerning immigration or an economy that ensures that a few feast at the expense of multitudes who go hungry. Here, both Republicans and Democrats are under the same influence, I promise you.

This is not about politics; it is about spiritual warfare. And by the way, the one who will sit on David’s throne, ruling forever, will not allow Satan to get his way in his kingdom. That is why the social ministries—at least those of this church—differ somewhat from conventional social justice. And this is something I do know about. HERC, for example, is a kind of covert army. You see these young people: they are the Rangers; they are Marines. HERC sends a covert army of young counselors and coaches who are intelligent, gifted, and have appealing personalities, but who are filled with the Holy Spirit, invading the classrooms of Boston’s public schools.

HERC now has a team of seven coaches. We pray for them and ordain them for this work, and they are sent to six public schools in the city of Boston, using the weapons of prayer and anointing to cancel Satan’s curse in the lives of hundreds—1,200 young people.

On Friday night, Alpha began its new campaign with an all-night prayer vigil. Who does that? With a vigil marked by praise, worship, testimonies of God’s transforming power and faithfulness, and extended moments of crying out to him. Church, this is about spiritual warfare. The weapons of our warfare are not of this world, but they are powerful.

Verse 54: “He helped Israel his servant, remembering the mercy of which he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”

My brothers and sisters, know this: God has not forgotten his mercy. God remembers every one of the promises he made to Abraham and his descendants—and that is where we slip in. Every one of those promises, amen.

I said a moment ago that God had chosen Mary for a difficult and unique assignment. Perhaps you are here, and what you lament most is the assignment God has given your life, and perhaps it is not the assignment you asked God for or expected. Lord, why this illness? Lord, why this situation? Lord, why this brokenness if I serve you and am faithful to you? And I declare to you in the name of Jesus that if you say, like Mary, “Behold your maidservant; behold your servant. Do with me what you desire,” the Holy Spirit will come upon you.

Today, he will overshadow whoever desires it. Wombs and barren lives will burst forth with life. My brothers and sisters, there is not one person here whom God is not willing to activate into a life that will amaze them. That is Christmas. Let us bow our heads.

Thank you, Jesus, for promising to come or breathe upon us, for taking away our shame and filling our emptiness with life.