Join Rick Hughes in this insightful episode of The Flotline, where he delves into the profound and spiritual significance of Christmas, the most critical event in human history. Through a detailed exploration of the biblical accounts, Rick recounts the messages delivered by the Angel Gabriel to Zacharias and Mary, and the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. This episode is not just an exploration of history but offers a deeper understanding of faith and God’s divine plan.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next 30 minutes, I’d like to invite you to stay tuned because it could be the most important 30 minutes of your entire life. This show is called The Flotline, F-L-O-T, Flotline. It’s always about motivation, inspiration, education, and never any manipulation, which means we don’t play games because we have no hidden agendas. We’re not trying to sell you anything. This is not an infomercial. We don’t have anything for you to join. Really, what we do have is accurate information, information that will help you verify and identify God’s plan for your life. And if you’re able to do that, then you’re always free to orient and adjust to the plan. That’s why we’re Americans. We’re free. We have that freedom. And so it’s a great privilege to be able to bring you this show, The Flatline, especially on a day like today, Christmas Day across America. I realize that a lot of people might not be listening today. It’s kind of a tough day to have a radio show. But perhaps you are one of the few that are tuned in to The Flatline today If you are, you’re going to be very, very glad that you tuned in because you’re going to hear some amazing information. But let me remind you what the Flotline is. The Flotline is simply a show that tells you how to learn the Word of God and use it as a forward line of troops in your life. Flot is a military analogy for the forward line of troops. And when you learn Scripture, when you learn the Word of God, when you put it into your mind, when you remember it, then you can use it to garrison or guard your thinking so that the outside source of adversity does not become the inside source of stress. Adversity is always inevitable because we are humans. But stress is optional. We don’t have to live under stress. Our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated that during His time on earth. And we have inherited the same lifestyle that he had. He’s passed it on to us. It’s called the Christian life. You do not have to live under worry. You do not have to live under fear. You do not have to live under any sort of antagonism. There is a better way to live. It’s called the relaxed mental attitude of the Christian life. With that in mind, let’s talk about today, Christmas Day. The most single critical moment in human history. If I ask you that question, if I said to you, what is the single most critical moment in human history? How would you answer that? Would you answer that in regards to a war or to the signing of a peace treaty? How would you answer it? If I ask you the single most critical moment in recent human history, maybe you would. But I’m talking about in all of human history. And the answer, obviously, on this Christmas Day would be the single most critical moment in human history is, in fact, the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. There were three distinct announcements of our Lord’s birth in Scripture. There’s where the Father gave three distinct heads up. And I want to give some of these to you today. I want to go through some of these for you today and tell you that probably Gabriel, the angel Gabriel, one of the two named angels in the Bible. Another one is named Michael. He’s mentioned in the Bible. Gabriel is identified as making two of these announcements and probably more than likely also made the third announcement. So we’re going to go into the book of Luke today. And in the book of Luke, as we study the birth of Jesus Christ, the single most critical moment in human history, we’ll find the first announcement was made to someone named Zacharias. Zacharias in Luke chapter 1. And if you go to Luke chapter 1, you can start reading like me. I’m going to turn over and I’m going to start reading in verse 5. It says here in verse 5, there was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah. His wife was the daughter of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God. That’s a key statement. Elizabeth and Zacharias were both mature believers. These were not some sort of believers that were caught up in the con game. They weren’t going through the ritual with no reality to it. They understood what it meant to worship God. They had devoted faith, and they were devoted people. And they were well advanced in years. Listen to what the Bible says. Again, in verse 6, And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the mandates and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. but they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. The Bible doesn’t exactly identify how old they were, but maybe about your age, well advanced in years. Would that be 60? Would that be 70? I don’t really know. But the Bible says they were barren. And so in verse 8, so it was that while he was serving as a priest before God, In the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood, his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. This is a very unique thing, by the way. There were a lot of priests in Israel. There were over 20,000 priests in Israel. And he was one of those 20,000 priests. And these duties of his particular branch of the priesthood only occurred twice a year. And as the lot fell upon him, this is the amazing thing about it, the lot fell upon him. You see where it says his lot fell to burn incense when he went into the temple. He was going into the Holy of Holies. He was going to have the magnificent opportunity to light the incense in the Holy of Holies. And while the whole multitude of the people were praying outside, At the hour of the lighting of the incense, the angel of the Lord appeared to him standing on the right side of the altar of the incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled and fear fell upon him. I think maybe you might have done the same thing. He freaked out. He didn’t know what to think. I mean, he went in there. This was a very unique thing to do. Not everyone got to do this. This was the Holy of Holies, and here he was lighting the incense, and he looks up, and there’s an angel of God standing there. And that angel was Gabriel, and he was afraid. And the angel said to him, Don’t be afraid, Zacharias. Your prayers are heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. And he also will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. That means when he was born, he was endued by the Holy Spirit for a specific mission. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to their Lord and to their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and the power of Elijah. to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient the wisdom of the just, and to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And Zacharias is a little freaked out. And he says, how should I know this? For now I’m an old man. My wife is well advanced in years. She’s old as well. And the angel said to him, and here’s a bit of a chastisement, I am Gabriel. who stands in the presence of God and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their own time. Now keep in mind that everyone is waiting outside, waiting on Zacharias to come out after lighting the incense, and it’s taking an awful long time. Maybe he tripped and fell. Maybe he’s had a heart attack. Maybe the excitement was just too much for him. He’d gone into the Holy of Holies behind the veil, and not many people were going to have the courage to go in after him. And they were waiting, verse 21 says. And they marveled that he stayed in the temple so long, Luke 1, 21. And when he came out, verse 22, he could not speak to them at all. And they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple, for he beckoned to them, and he remained speechless. So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. And now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, Thus the Lord has dealt with me in the days before, when you looked upon me to take away my reproach among the people. What was the reproach? To be a barren womb, not to be able to have children. And now she’s going to have a child. Now I wonder if Zechariah told her what was going to happen. He couldn’t speak. I don’t know how he could have communicated to her unless maybe he wrote a note and said, Honey, I’ve seen a vision in the temple and an angel of God told me you were going to get pregnant. We were going to have a child, but the angel even told him the name of the child. Isn’t that interesting? Gabriel made that announcement. Here is an interesting fact. There are many angels in heaven. Only two mentioned in the Bible by name, Gabriel and Michael. There are many angels in heaven. Does God know the name of every angel? The answer is yes. And Isaiah 40 verse 26, lift up your eyes on high and see who created these things, who brings out their host by number. He calls them all by name. By the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one is missing. Here’s a great principle for you to remember. If God the Father knows the name of every angel, millions and millions of angels, does he know your name? Is he aware of where you live? Does he care about you? And the answer is yes. I think probably the loneliest moment that a person can experience is a Christmas without a loved one. With a husband or a wife that has departed to be with the Lord or a loss of a child, it’s a lonely, lonely time in life. Especially if there’s no one to love you. No one to care about you. But keep this in mind. God loves you. He loved you so much that he sent his uniquely born son, even Jesus, to pay for our sin, my sin, your sin. And that’s why the Bible says he that knew no sin was made sin for us. So that he may be made the righteous, or we, excuse me, we may be made the righteousness of God through him. Now that was the first announcement, the announcement to Zechariah that he’s going to have a son. The son’s going to be the forerunner to the Savior, and the son’s name’s going to be John. Then if we go to Luke chapter 1, and we go now to verse 26, we will find that same angel, Gabriel, making another announcement to Mary. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. Now Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph, and Joseph had a lintage through the house of David. And here is Mary, here is Joseph, and here is Gabriel in the sixth month. And here’s what happens. Having come in, the angel said to her, Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you, and blessed are you among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at the saying, and considered what manner of greeting was this. And the angel said to her, Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. Again, Gabriel gives the name of the child. To Zacharias and Elizabeth, it was John. To Mary, he’s to be named Jesus. In verse 32, Luke chapter 1, he will be great. And he will be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And his kingdom, there will be no end. And then Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin? I have known no man. And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you, and therefore also that holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, And this is now the sixth month for her, who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible. And then Mary said, Behold, the maidservant of the Lord, let it be according to your word. The angel departed from her. Immediately, Mary takes off to see her cousin Elizabeth. She learns that Elizabeth is six months pregnant. There’s no email. There’s… There’s no text messaging. There’s no way for her to know this other than the angel told her. And so Mary takes off. And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste to the city of Judah and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. Wow. Do you know she’s going to be gone about three months and when she comes back she’s expecting. That might throw a little loop into things for Joseph, wouldn’t you say? I mean, here’s Joseph to be married to this woman, and a normal engagement period is a little bit different than what we see around here today. A normal engagement period was 12 months. And when someone was engaged to be married in those days, it was a contract. You waited 12 months. And then at the end of the wait, the man would… gather all of his friends, and he would march over to the bride’s house and bring her back to his house. But a pregnant, unwed mother, she would be branded impure, and it would be grounds for divorce. And so we have a problem, is that Joseph is engaged to be married to Mary, and Mary is pregnant. She’s going to go visit her cousin Elizabeth, and come back pregnant. And Joseph has a problem with this. So I’m going to read to you Matthew 1, verses 18 through 24. Now the birth of Jesus was as follows. After his mother was betrothed to Joseph, they came together, and she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, see, he could have divorced her, and she would have been a public harlot because she had been unfaithful to the betrothed, to the engagement of the 12-month waiting period. Not wanting to make her a public example, he was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and he said this, 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, and she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, and he will save his people from their sin. So all of this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel. Very interesting passage of scripture, would you say? Comes out of Isaiah 7, 14. And then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. And he took to him his wife, and he did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn son. And he called his name Jesus. He did not know her. That’s a euphemism meaning he did not have sexual intercourse with her. They did not consummate the marriage sexually until after Jesus was born. You know, this is very interesting. The most amazing day in the history of the world. And in all three cases, it was a special supernatural visit from an angel once in a dream, and the other two times face-to-face. But this supernatural visit was designed to keep down confusion. The question is, does God still supernaturally visit us even today? And the answer is yes. He does supernaturally communicate to us today. And how does He do it? He does it through the Scripture. He does it through the Word. You know, the Bible is the Word of God, and it’s alive and powerful, sharper than even a two-edged sword, according to Hebrews 4, verse 12. So God does divulge things supernaturally today for us through the Word. But there are not angels floating down to visit you today. If you think you have seen an angel, I would advise you to think again. This doesn’t happen today. This is not the way it happens. Could it happen? Well, certainly. God can do anything he wants to do. But he’s given us his word, and he communicates through his word. There was no written Bible in these days. And now we do have the Bible. We do have the mind of Christ. We do have the communication of Scripture through the word. And God still speaks, but not face-to-face with angels, through the Bibles. That’s why the Bible is the most critical book in your life. You must learn what’s in the Word of God. You must come to understand what’s in the Word of God. Because it is your playbook for life. It is your instruction manual for life. It is, in fact, the mind of Christ. And everything that our Lord did is recorded here. And this is interesting. When you study the life of Christ, Then you begin to see how, in fact, you can live. How, in fact, you can live your life. How it is that God designed life for you by looking at Christ and seeing how he lived. You know, Mary was a mature believer. She had a lot of humility. She had maximum faith. Joseph was a mature believer. Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth We’re mature believers. These were not just people picked off the sidewalk that God decided to do something with. These were mature believers, people who understood the Scripture, who studied the Scriptures and understood they were righteous before God, and they understood what the Scripture said. But again, they didn’t have a New Testament. They had the law. The prophets of Moses, the Torah, they had that, and they knew that. And when God chose these four unique people and made these three unique announcements, this was indeed the single most critical moment in human history. The Bible says in Matthew 2, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king… Behold, the wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who’s been born king of the Jews? We’ve seen his star in the east, and we’ve come to worship him. Let me tell you this. These wise men did not show up the night of the birth. It was much later that they showed up. And when they showed up saying, We have come to worship the king of the Jews, Herod was the king of the Jews. He didn’t take very lightly to this, and he was certainly upset And he devised a plan to kill this baby. And if he had to, he was going to kill every baby under the age of two. He figured it would have taken these wise men a while to get there when they first saw this vision. It says in verse 3, When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all of Jerusalem with him. And he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together and inquired of them, saying, Where is this Christ to be born? And they said, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophets. See, they knew this. They already knew all of this information. This wasn’t anything new. They ignored it. They wanted nothing to do with it. It’s the same thing that our Lord faced with the scribes and the Pharisees when he demonstrated that he was, in fact, the Son of God by the miracles that he performed. They still rejected him. They wanted nothing to do with him. And then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise man, determined from them what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem. And he said, Go and search carefully for the child. And when you’ve found him, bring word back to me that I can come and worship him also. Right. Yeah, sure. He doesn’t have any desire to come and worship the king of the Jews. He wants to kill him. Isn’t this interesting? Most interesting indeed. Well, let’s read on. When they heard the king, they departed. And behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly great joy, and they came into the house, not the stable, not the barn, And they saw the young child with Mary, his mother. And they fell down and worshipped him. And when they opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way. And now the family of Jesus has to flee because Herod is on a murderous rampage. And the Bible says, When they departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee to Egypt and stay there until I bring you word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt and stayed there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which is spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt. I called my son. Interesting, how did they get to Egypt? They went at night. They had enough money. They had gold. The wise men brought them gold. The Lord had provided finances for the travel. And I’m sure they hooked up with some caravan and off to Egypt they went to get out from underneath the control of Herod who was now going to seek to kill the child. As you read this, as you listen to this, Can you not see the miracle of God in the birth of our Savior, even Jesus the Lord? But here’s the greatest miracle. The Bible says he came for you. He went through all of this for you. The very fact that Jesus came to this world and was born was to solve the sin problem. You see, we have a holy and a righteous God and a just God. And we have man, which is unholy and unjust. But God loves us. Well, how did we get unholy and unjust? The Bible says, For by one man sin came into the world, and death by sin, and now death has passed on all. For all have sinned, and all have come short of the glory of God. Here we are, sinful man, in a sinful condition, saved by the mercy of God, and the gift of His Son, What a marvelous day Christmas is to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world, the risen Son of God, even Jesus Christ, the Lord.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054. Or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
