Luke 1:5-17 KJV
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Appearance of Angel set fear in Zacharias a Priest, who was righteous, and walked blameless to the commandments and ordinances. His belief would of made him righteous as Abraham was consider righteous by faith, obedience would of been outward show in his life that he was a believer in God. He went to burn incense in the temple to the Lord, part of his duty of Priest and it came his turn/duty to perform this sacred custom in the temple. And while in the temple an Angel appeared to him. This event not necessarily unusual to the Priesthood, because knowledge of these events did exist even in scripture. However it was unusual because it probably had not happened in that time period, and when God began to speak through his messenger that Zachariah would have a son named John, it would of been startling news in itself, for Zachariah could not have children, nor is wife. They were to old.

The impossible news, the impossible idea of God doing something to change the status of man's human ability to have was not unheard of either for Abraham and Sarah were very old when Sarah conceived a child. With God all things are possible, with man not everything is possible and yet man often tries to duplicate God. It has been a while but a 60 year woman gave birth the news claimed. I did not know the woman or know the year the story aired, but it was done by scientific method and not the act of God in the woman's life, unless she claimed it to be of God in regards to him allowing the impossible through science to occur. However in the days of Zacharias and Elisabeth the science world is not where it is today in means of being able to duplicate things of God in the form of impossible conception like in old age.

How would you respond to an Angel appearing, and what would you say to an angel that came to you? That will be in tomorrow lesson, but today I want to focus on the impossible as we know it. If my husband I do two things differently it would be stacking pans in the little draw beneath the oven differently then the other. We hang clothes differently and so forth. It the little things that get on one's nerves that also makes one smile knowing that yes there are difference between us. The wrong way of doing something and the right way. What I mean the right way, is I can fit all our pans in the draw with the draw still being able to open and close and kenny can not. I love him, but this is only the example of the impossible of him always getting the draw right will never happen. Until one day I noticed he got it almost right, and the next time they all fit. Different schools of thought on how to do something, and yet a reason it goes a certain way is for it all to fit in order. Miracles do happen.

God has a way of reminding us if he wants to get a message across to us that He is in control, and still on the throne, he going to take humanities impossibility and make it possible. God was going to take two people who bodies had seen a long life, and allow the woman to conceive at a time in her life when it would be normally impossible. Yet God was going to make the impossible possible for a his purpose and glory. Who was this child, to be born but the forerunner of Jesus the one prophesied about coming like Elias to make ready the people of Israel for the Messiah coming. He would turn the hearts of the people back to the Lord. He would be anointed in the womb by the Holy Spirit.

What is this anointing of the Holy Spirit, it came before, after and during the Messiah ministry. God wants to do three things here, take the impossible make it possible and use it to announce his Son coming. He wants to take a event that going to spread far and wide and use it to announce his Son's coming, and the third thing is to turn the disobedient children to the wisdom of the just. Changing their way of thinking to a form of repentance and understanding the wisdom and knowledge of right and wrong. Concept of the law and the reason for God's law and the consquences of breaking that law, causing man to turn away from sin and back to the Lord. John the son of Zachariah would be a repentance preacher.

Repentance Preacher purpose is to turn the hearts of the people back to God, to preach to make one aware of their humanity plus their sin nature, that their imperfection need to be turned away from and take the burden or sin to the altar/cross. It is wise to turn and live for Jesus, it is wise to turn from sin and believe in Christ. The impossibility of us cleansing our own garnments when filthy is impossible, no matter how you hang them up to dry, you still need a washer. Repentance preacher is a washer, before the Holy Spirit can rest in the heart of the believer. How was John qualified to be a washer? One God ordain him even when it was thought impossible for his parents to give birth to him because of old age, and by making it possible. Two God gave him the Holy Spirit with in John's heart before he was born. The anointing of the Holy Spirit would continue in John's ministry. The Holy Spirit through John would prepare the heart of the people by what he spoke, preached and taught about God and repentance.

I think the idea of John not being the Messiah is perhaps hard to grasp, for he was to be only a preacher of righteousness. Messiah was anointed(for a sign) at his baptism of who child he truly was and is. As a believe we receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit when we ask, when we prayed for ourselves, or when minister's hands are laid upon us to receive the Holy Spirit as a believer. The Holy Spirit begins to put our life in the right order by sweeping it clean. Just like getting the pans under my stove to fit, the work of God wants to make room for Christ coming. He had to prepare the hearts of the people of Israel to receive God's word and instruction.

How can we receive God's word, if our heart is not first prepared. In the church world, many churches start with announcements, then the service goes into a time of prayer, song and worship, and then a time of receiving of God's Holy Word. A minister can be a man that will allow God's word to shine, or God's word to die out due to anedotes in a message and the word of God not bring forth life because the anedote or joke is now being memorized by part of the congregation. Preparation must come first with understanding one is a sinner, then receiving the knowledge through God's word, repenting, asking Christ into one's life by receiving that he came as a man to you and me, to teach us to live by His Word. Knowing God takes us just as we are, because he is the one providing the salvation we need for eternity through faith in his Son, Christ Jesus. John Baptist anoint could not save, but could teach one that eternal salvation was coming, and repents. Christ anointing in itself could not save, but who he was could save one from one's sin upon belief in him.

Dear Heavenly Father, as we walk the road of the story of Christmas remind our hearts of our need to prepare our hearts for our Savior's birth reactment. Prepare us to receive your word in our hearts as being truth, as coming with impossibilities that will be possible. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Luke 1:36-37 KJV
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.