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Dec. 25, 2023
65. Christmas Day from the Prophets!
In this beautiful exploration of the season, join Emma and Louise Reid as they reflect on John 1:14 and pray over you. For this is a call back into awe and wonder. A call back into giving thanks for the greatest miracle of all time - the incarnation of Jesus, who is the God who became flesh.
We’re building a home for our growing movement of prophetic warriors like you! Will you join us financially in creating a visionary resource centre in the heart of Glasgow? This centre will serve as a broadcast and recording facility, creating cutting edge content of truth and training to the world. Visit https://www.propheticscots.com/give to donate today.
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Transcript
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In this episode of What the Prophets Say, it's Christmas Day my friends and I'm
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asking you this question, what is the greatest miracle in all of the Bible? See
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you for this episode of What the Prophets Say. Well welcome to another
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episode of What the Prophets Say with me Emma Stark and I'm joined in the studio
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by Louise Reed. It is Christmas! Happy Christmas one and all! Happy Christmas everybody!
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Wonderful time of the year. It is a wonderful time of the year. Do you feel
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the most wonderful time of the year? Do you want to sing them a little Christmas song?
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What's your favourite Christmas song? Well I like the harmony, the
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descant because I grew up in choirs to Hark the Herald. Yes.
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Triumphant. Yes, however I used to be a soprano until I started shouting whilst
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I preached and I have totally screwed up my voice. Now you're a bass. Thanks Louise, it's not that bad.
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I'm definitely not a first soprano in the choral singing. So I like to think I am
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but I screech out the descant like a wailing strangled bird. So I do like
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it but it's not a pretty sound. Okay. So but what I love the most is David, this is
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the time of year David gets his trumpet out and plays all of the carols on his
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trumpet. So because he's obviously my husband a classically trained musician
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and when I first met him like 30 years ago he would have done on the street
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kind of busking and... Just with a trumpet? Yeah just with a trumpet and he would have
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made like loads of money because he would... he'd have a couple of real hits
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that people would stop to listen to and then pour out their list change at
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Christmas to the per freezing cold musician on the street. But is it the one
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that goes and where there's not a pause for a breath and oh yeah
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Oh that one. What's that? How does that... Ding Dong, Marilyn and I. It's such a long you know on the trumpet that people would pause and he would go...
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That's amazing. And then people would throw money at him. So that's the merchandising of
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Christmas by playing a Christmas carol. His talents no no end. I'm surprised he did it
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because that wouldn't have been good for his fingers. Oh no he had fingerless gloves.
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Oh yeah yeah he used to get utterly freezing but that's why they used to make
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their money. But you know there's some amazing words and theology in some of
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our Christmas carols and I'm going to say there's some Christmas carols that
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are dire but there are some that have... My favorite carol I don't even know if
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it's a carol but we used to sing it in my church when I was a child and I if
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when I think about it it immediately touches my heart and it was called... Can I guess?
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Mary had a little donkey. It's that one. I was having a serious moment there Emma. You completely stole that from me.
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I know there there are some dreadful carols but this
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song was called Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne and Thy Kingly Crown When Thou
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Came Us to Earth for Me and we only sang it at Christmas and then it
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comes into the chorus of the the end of the verse is just like two lines of a
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refrain and it says oh come to my heart Lord Jesus there is room in my heart for
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thee. So like it's a real old hymn with the old language but oh my goodness it
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is just the idea of the riches of heaven and laying it all aside he
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you know he left that to come and the incarnation and it's just the most
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tremendous hymn and I can't find on YouTube any modern arrangement of it
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because it's just so I don't think anybody sings it anymore. I've never
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heard of it. Well there you go that's something for you to Google tonight.
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But you know I grew up and listening to Amy Grant Christmas albums and I'm so
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nostalgic for that. We're all cutting edge and he had change and
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then a little bit of background Amy Grant. Anyway. And what from Amy Grant? What was on her
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Christmas album? I've never been to Tennessee I'm not totally sure where it
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is apart from America and she would sing another tender Tennessee Christmas
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only Christmas for me and I always thought that at Christmas in Tennessee
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must be like the bees knees of Christmas. I mean Christmas is very
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nostalgic yes but I think we need to get a better thought about it. Well shall we
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try? Yes let's go for it. So where do we end up? If I say to you Louise Reed what is the greatest
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miracle in the Bible? Which would be in your top two or three or four? The
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greatest miracle of Scripture. Where would you go? Oh that's a great question.
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I'm going in a thousand different directions. I'm trying to pull my mind back.
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Because there's a miracle like the major miracles of the
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resurrection. There's a miracle of creation. There's a miracles of Jesus. But I
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guess we would have to land on the incredible miracle of the incarnation. I
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think that is probably the right answer. I mean the miracle of Christ became
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flesh is probably the greatest most dynamic more than the raising from the
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dead which in essence is a fairly normal thing for God who brings right from
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the beginning of the book in Genesis order and life and creation and out of
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chaos and nothingness. So life to the dead is actually his normal
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practice you see that. But this word became flesh I think is the greatest
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miracle which is why I think this season is the season of the greatest
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requirement to contend for all and wonder and the refreshing of a thank-you
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Jesus that you came. That's not a trite expression and here is why and we're
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going into the bios of biology here if that's okay to do. If Mary had had
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what some think of Mary the mother of Jesus had had a spontaneous conception
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yes in other words it had been really nothing to do with the hand of God but
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it had been a little bit of a push from a bit of the miraculous and she had
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and conceived and you know by a bit of a shove of God and from the outside you
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would have got a female child it would have replicated her because you do get
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that occasion they're very odd and but the spontaneous concept of spontaneous
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conception where where a woman's egg fertilizes itself but you always get a
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female babies yeah so we know that this miracle of the incarnation is not that
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oh well here's a spontaneous conception you know that it is not God just
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appearing in her womb and having nothing to do with Mary because then Jesus
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cannot be fully God and fully man he's only fully divine at that point so this
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wonder is the God of all creation of all glory and power and might and majesty
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and authority who fuses himself with very legitimately the egg of Mary so
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that he is 100% male man and a hundred percent God that to me of how God
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chooses to do that is the greatest miracle and the greatest wow the
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greatest passion of God that he contains himself to that which is why I think in
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Philippians you get what's written I'll put up actually the seven humiliations
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of Christ and in in Philippians where we're asked and as I'm just scrolling
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through through my phone to find the right to find the right and verse where
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Jesus takes on and the very nature of a servant and and can you find the yeah
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it's to first starting at verse 6 really and my computer is can you read it there
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because my computer is in the NIV so it's Philippians 2 that we're in and
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starting at verse 6 who being in very nature God did not consider equality
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with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing there it is very
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nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in appearance
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as a man he humbled himself so you get these concepts of making himself
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nothing in the incarnation servant nature human likeness likeness being
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finding the appearance of a man so releasing the same thing four times in
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Philippians 2 verse 7 to 8 and the sense of the wonder of the and theologians
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call it the humiliations of Christ but the humility of Christ in that moment to
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become nothing and to to fuse his very DNA is very self is very supreme being
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within that very lowly context and the oh my I need to come into wonder at your
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absolute passion to restore and redeem me and to come chasing after me and the
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sense of the containment forevermore that Jesus is in even in the heavenly
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realms yes he did at the right hand of God the Father but not losing that
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physical form and of course appearing to the disciples very much in Thomas you
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know see the wounds in my hands and the wounds in my side and the utter utter
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passion and humility and miracle of the incarnation is really what I think we
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come to celebrate and to fall on our faces again at the John one scripture and
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perhaps you have the John one scripture and we'll read it together amazing the
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John one scripture in light of that yeah then it's not the and it's not the story
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of the shepherds as marvelous that is or the wise men but it is the incarnation
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that we go can I stop and pause and wonder let's read it yeah and it's John
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1 14 the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us we have seen his glory
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the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth
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it is an extraordinary scripture I mean it's one that we should have on our lips
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and yes and in our hearts it's it's extraordinary just when you're talking
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there about the miracle of the the incarnation just the idea of the the
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vastness of the wealth and glory of what God sits in and who he is the
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magnificence of his character and his being the ultimate and to to reduce
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himself mm-hmm to the size of an embryo yeah to be implanted in in female flesh
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and and blood is in is just extraordinary yeah and to be carried for
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nine months just like the rest of us so he identifies with us at every level you
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know he came through a woman a natural birth process yeah into this world just
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extort and that's only just a very very beginning of the all and the wonder for
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me it's that kind of oh oh my you are the gods who is the author of all
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speech or language learning how to talk you are the god of all movement and the
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direction of the entire universe and you're learning to walk you are the god
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who is the very source of all life and being and you're learning to chew food
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yes and this incarnation story is not just what we said of the divine and the
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human fusing in the womb of Mary but those first few years of infancy and
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toddler where the contrast cannot be lost in us and the passionate love of
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God for us and I think we are maybe a bit glib about God loves you but the
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sheer overwhelming price that was paid not just on the cross but in the in the
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substance of the incarnation being willing yes to leave everything to
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identify with us at every level of growth and process of lot of early life
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to take on the very nature of a man to take on the being in human appearance
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and Philippians concepts it's an extraordinary level of identification
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yes I mean who would have thought I mean if you were the the master of the
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universe and you want to to bring redemption and save the souls of the
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whole of the universe what would you choose me surely you would choose
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conquering king surely would choose conquering and our concepts particularly
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from the film world and from Hollywood would be very different but here is an
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absolute counterculture extraordinary example of the lengths to which God is
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done and it is that's only the beginning because then we have the extraordinary
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level of the end of Philippians 4 of that pick that them that song it's
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really a song in Philippians 4 wasn't it the early church used yes of his his
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ascension and why all of this and I do think that's why John 1 which is the
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passage that you read and you know the became flesh and dwelt among us you can
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understand why by verse 12 John is saying or verse 11 sorry he came to that
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which was his own but his own did not receive him because we have not
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understood or have the ability to receive this level of passionate love
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and humility because we don't think of a king in that way yeah and so on this
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Christmas day is these broadcasts come out on Monday and Monday is Christmas
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and day this year this sense of can we release back to you in the busyness and
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the press of a season that draws sometimes the worst out of us can we
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call you back for a moment into all and into wonder yeah and can we capture your
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heart to say thank you for the incarnation the greatest miracle of all
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time and perhaps the greatest miracle that will ever be achieved in all of
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heaven and earth yeah the gods yes who became flesh do you want to just pray
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that over the people today yeah sure Lord the first thing we say is we are in
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awe and we are thankful beyond words and Lord as you came though as the word
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became flesh and dwelt among us and we see your glory the glory of the one and
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only son and Lord we right now gaze on your beauty and your preciousness and
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even at this Christmas time we say will you go public with your beauty may the
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manifestation of the magnificence and the excellence and the preeminence of
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who you are be our portion and be our delight this Christmas and Lord as you
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came full of grace and truth may grace and truth fill our homes with the
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presence of God the presence of the the Holy Trinity among us may that be our
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portion and our delight this Christmas in Jesus name so we cause the scales
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wrongfully given in this season to come off your eyes yeah and we loose you into
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awe wonder and gratitude in Jesus to Savior's name amen happy Christmas
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thank you for joining us for another episode a Christmas blessing episode of
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what the prophets say we'll see you next week which will be new year yes bye bye
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join us for start the year right 2024 with Emma Stark Sam Robertson Jane
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Hammond and other invited guests we're going to be diving into the deep waters
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of what God is saying for this strategic and key year you will get strategy for
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your life and be equipped to overcome in the days ahead join us in Glasgow in
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Scotland for this landmark event
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In this episode of What the Prophets Say, it's Christmas Day my friends and I'm
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asking you this question, what is the greatest miracle in all of the Bible? See
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you for this episode of What the Prophets Say. Well welcome to another
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episode of What the Prophets Say with me Emma Stark and I'm joined in the studio
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by Louise Reed. It is Christmas! Happy Christmas one and all! Happy Christmas everybody!
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Wonderful time of the year. It is a wonderful time of the year. Do you feel
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the most wonderful time of the year? Do you want to sing them a little Christmas song?
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What's your favourite Christmas song? Well I like the harmony, the
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descant because I grew up in choirs to Hark the Herald. Yes.
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Triumphant. Yes, however I used to be a soprano until I started shouting whilst
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I preached and I have totally screwed up my voice. Now you're a bass. Thanks Louise, it's not that bad.
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I'm definitely not a first soprano in the choral singing. So I like to think I am
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but I screech out the descant like a wailing strangled bird. So I do like
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it but it's not a pretty sound. Okay. So but what I love the most is David, this is
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the time of year David gets his trumpet out and plays all of the carols on his
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trumpet. So because he's obviously my husband a classically trained musician
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and when I first met him like 30 years ago he would have done on the street
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kind of busking and... Just with a trumpet? Yeah just with a trumpet and he would have
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made like loads of money because he would... he'd have a couple of real hits
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that people would stop to listen to and then pour out their list change at
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Christmas to the per freezing cold musician on the street. But is it the one
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that goes and where there's not a pause for a breath and oh yeah
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Oh that one. What's that? How does that... Ding Dong, Marilyn and I. It's such a long you know on the trumpet that people would pause and he would go...
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That's amazing. And then people would throw money at him. So that's the merchandising of
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Christmas by playing a Christmas carol. His talents no no end. I'm surprised he did it
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because that wouldn't have been good for his fingers. Oh no he had fingerless gloves.
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Oh yeah yeah he used to get utterly freezing but that's why they used to make
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their money. But you know there's some amazing words and theology in some of
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our Christmas carols and I'm going to say there's some Christmas carols that
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are dire but there are some that have... My favorite carol I don't even know if
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it's a carol but we used to sing it in my church when I was a child and I if
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when I think about it it immediately touches my heart and it was called... Can I guess?
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Mary had a little donkey. It's that one. I was having a serious moment there Emma. You completely stole that from me.
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I know there there are some dreadful carols but this
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song was called Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne and Thy Kingly Crown When Thou
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Came Us to Earth for Me and we only sang it at Christmas and then it
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comes into the chorus of the the end of the verse is just like two lines of a
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refrain and it says oh come to my heart Lord Jesus there is room in my heart for
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thee. So like it's a real old hymn with the old language but oh my goodness it
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is just the idea of the riches of heaven and laying it all aside he
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you know he left that to come and the incarnation and it's just the most
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tremendous hymn and I can't find on YouTube any modern arrangement of it
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because it's just so I don't think anybody sings it anymore. I've never
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heard of it. Well there you go that's something for you to Google tonight.
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But you know I grew up and listening to Amy Grant Christmas albums and I'm so
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nostalgic for that. We're all cutting edge and he had change and
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then a little bit of background Amy Grant. Anyway. And what from Amy Grant? What was on her
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Christmas album? I've never been to Tennessee I'm not totally sure where it
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is apart from America and she would sing another tender Tennessee Christmas
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only Christmas for me and I always thought that at Christmas in Tennessee
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must be like the bees knees of Christmas. I mean Christmas is very
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nostalgic yes but I think we need to get a better thought about it. Well shall we
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try? Yes let's go for it. So where do we end up? If I say to you Louise Reed what is the greatest
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miracle in the Bible? Which would be in your top two or three or four? The
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greatest miracle of Scripture. Where would you go? Oh that's a great question.
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I'm going in a thousand different directions. I'm trying to pull my mind back.
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Because there's a miracle like the major miracles of the
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resurrection. There's a miracle of creation. There's a miracles of Jesus. But I
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guess we would have to land on the incredible miracle of the incarnation. I
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think that is probably the right answer. I mean the miracle of Christ became
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flesh is probably the greatest most dynamic more than the raising from the
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dead which in essence is a fairly normal thing for God who brings right from
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the beginning of the book in Genesis order and life and creation and out of
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chaos and nothingness. So life to the dead is actually his normal
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practice you see that. But this word became flesh I think is the greatest
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miracle which is why I think this season is the season of the greatest
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requirement to contend for all and wonder and the refreshing of a thank-you
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Jesus that you came. That's not a trite expression and here is why and we're
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going into the bios of biology here if that's okay to do. If Mary had had
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what some think of Mary the mother of Jesus had had a spontaneous conception
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yes in other words it had been really nothing to do with the hand of God but
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it had been a little bit of a push from a bit of the miraculous and she had
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and conceived and you know by a bit of a shove of God and from the outside you
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would have got a female child it would have replicated her because you do get
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that occasion they're very odd and but the spontaneous concept of spontaneous
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conception where where a woman's egg fertilizes itself but you always get a
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female babies yeah so we know that this miracle of the incarnation is not that
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oh well here's a spontaneous conception you know that it is not God just
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appearing in her womb and having nothing to do with Mary because then Jesus
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cannot be fully God and fully man he's only fully divine at that point so this
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wonder is the God of all creation of all glory and power and might and majesty
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and authority who fuses himself with very legitimately the egg of Mary so
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that he is 100% male man and a hundred percent God that to me of how God
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chooses to do that is the greatest miracle and the greatest wow the
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greatest passion of God that he contains himself to that which is why I think in
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Philippians you get what's written I'll put up actually the seven humiliations
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of Christ and in in Philippians where we're asked and as I'm just scrolling
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through through my phone to find the right to find the right and verse where
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Jesus takes on and the very nature of a servant and and can you find the yeah
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it's to first starting at verse 6 really and my computer is can you read it there
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because my computer is in the NIV so it's Philippians 2 that we're in and
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starting at verse 6 who being in very nature God did not consider equality
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with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing there it is very
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nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in appearance
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as a man he humbled himself so you get these concepts of making himself
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nothing in the incarnation servant nature human likeness likeness being
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finding the appearance of a man so releasing the same thing four times in
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Philippians 2 verse 7 to 8 and the sense of the wonder of the and theologians
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call it the humiliations of Christ but the humility of Christ in that moment to
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become nothing and to to fuse his very DNA is very self is very supreme being
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within that very lowly context and the oh my I need to come into wonder at your
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absolute passion to restore and redeem me and to come chasing after me and the
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sense of the containment forevermore that Jesus is in even in the heavenly
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realms yes he did at the right hand of God the Father but not losing that
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physical form and of course appearing to the disciples very much in Thomas you
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know see the wounds in my hands and the wounds in my side and the utter utter
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passion and humility and miracle of the incarnation is really what I think we
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come to celebrate and to fall on our faces again at the John one scripture and
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perhaps you have the John one scripture and we'll read it together amazing the
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John one scripture in light of that yeah then it's not the and it's not the story
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of the shepherds as marvelous that is or the wise men but it is the incarnation
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that we go can I stop and pause and wonder let's read it yeah and it's John
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1 14 the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us we have seen his glory
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the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth
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it is an extraordinary scripture I mean it's one that we should have on our lips
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and yes and in our hearts it's it's extraordinary just when you're talking
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there about the miracle of the the incarnation just the idea of the the
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vastness of the wealth and glory of what God sits in and who he is the
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magnificence of his character and his being the ultimate and to to reduce
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himself mm-hmm to the size of an embryo yeah to be implanted in in female flesh
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and and blood is in is just extraordinary yeah and to be carried for
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nine months just like the rest of us so he identifies with us at every level you
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know he came through a woman a natural birth process yeah into this world just
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extort and that's only just a very very beginning of the all and the wonder for
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me it's that kind of oh oh my you are the gods who is the author of all
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speech or language learning how to talk you are the god of all movement and the
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direction of the entire universe and you're learning to walk you are the god
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who is the very source of all life and being and you're learning to chew food
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yes and this incarnation story is not just what we said of the divine and the
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human fusing in the womb of Mary but those first few years of infancy and
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toddler where the contrast cannot be lost in us and the passionate love of
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God for us and I think we are maybe a bit glib about God loves you but the
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sheer overwhelming price that was paid not just on the cross but in the in the
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substance of the incarnation being willing yes to leave everything to
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identify with us at every level of growth and process of lot of early life
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to take on the very nature of a man to take on the being in human appearance
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and Philippians concepts it's an extraordinary level of identification
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yes I mean who would have thought I mean if you were the the master of the
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universe and you want to to bring redemption and save the souls of the
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whole of the universe what would you choose me surely you would choose
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conquering king surely would choose conquering and our concepts particularly
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from the film world and from Hollywood would be very different but here is an
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absolute counterculture extraordinary example of the lengths to which God is
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done and it is that's only the beginning because then we have the extraordinary
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level of the end of Philippians 4 of that pick that them that song it's
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really a song in Philippians 4 wasn't it the early church used yes of his his
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ascension and why all of this and I do think that's why John 1 which is the
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passage that you read and you know the became flesh and dwelt among us you can
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understand why by verse 12 John is saying or verse 11 sorry he came to that
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which was his own but his own did not receive him because we have not
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understood or have the ability to receive this level of passionate love
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and humility because we don't think of a king in that way yeah and so on this
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Christmas day is these broadcasts come out on Monday and Monday is Christmas
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and day this year this sense of can we release back to you in the busyness and
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the press of a season that draws sometimes the worst out of us can we
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call you back for a moment into all and into wonder yeah and can we capture your
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heart to say thank you for the incarnation the greatest miracle of all
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time and perhaps the greatest miracle that will ever be achieved in all of
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heaven and earth yeah the gods yes who became flesh do you want to just pray
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that over the people today yeah sure Lord the first thing we say is we are in
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awe and we are thankful beyond words and Lord as you came though as the word
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became flesh and dwelt among us and we see your glory the glory of the one and
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only son and Lord we right now gaze on your beauty and your preciousness and
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even at this Christmas time we say will you go public with your beauty may the
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manifestation of the magnificence and the excellence and the preeminence of
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who you are be our portion and be our delight this Christmas and Lord as you
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came full of grace and truth may grace and truth fill our homes with the
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presence of God the presence of the the Holy Trinity among us may that be our
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portion and our delight this Christmas in Jesus name so we cause the scales
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wrongfully given in this season to come off your eyes yeah and we loose you into
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awe wonder and gratitude in Jesus to Savior's name amen happy Christmas
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thank you for joining us for another episode a Christmas blessing episode of
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what the prophets say we'll see you next week which will be new year yes bye bye
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join us for start the year right 2024 with Emma Stark Sam Robertson Jane
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Hammond and other invited guests we're going to be diving into the deep waters
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of what God is saying for this strategic and key year you will get strategy for
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your life and be equipped to overcome in the days ahead join us in Glasgow in
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Scotland for this landmark event
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