Elizabeth | A Promise of Peace Week 2

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There's a part of the Christmas story

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that you've probably never heard before,

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but could change your life

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and bring you peace this Christmas.

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Hey, I'm Kyle. Welcome to Crossroads.

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And I'm going to make an assumption

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that we all know the same Christmas story, right?

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You've got Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the wise men.

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But what about everybody else?

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I mean, is there anybody else?

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Well, the truth is, the Christmas story

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goes much further than just your classic nativity scene.

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And today we're going to uncover

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some of the unexpected supporting characters

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of Christmas, people left in the shadows,

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but who hold significance for our lives today

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and can unlock the peace that you need this Christmas.

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I've asked my friend Hannah to tell us about

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one of those characters, a woman named Elizabeth.

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- If we uncover the hidden characters of Christmas,

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we can unlock a new perspective

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that affects our lives today.

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Hey, I'm Hannah, and at the end of today's episode,

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if you engage, you're going to see how God

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can actually be good in the middle of uncertainty

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and how you can have peace this Christmas.

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Today, I'm going to tell you about a hidden character

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who knew all too well about the power

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of believing in the goodness of God.

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Now, when I say hidden character,

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I'm not actually talking about someone who's invisible,

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but rather someone who is a major minor character,

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Elizabeth.

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So whether you know the Christmas story or not,

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the name of Elizabeth is just not in the mix.

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She and her family sort of go unnoticed

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and kind of like maybe Best Supporting Actor

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at the Oscars, if you know what I mean.

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Or better yet, she's like hair and makeup,

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who actually are a segment of the Oscars,

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I bet you didn't know that,

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but she never gets any airtime.

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See, just like hair and makeup,

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she sets the stage for Jesus.

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To see how Elizabeth matters

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and believes in the goodness of God

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and why it matters to you, we're going to go

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on a little bit of a journey.

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We'll see how Elizabeth was related to Jesus,

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was visited by an angel, miraculously defied science,

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and had a baby leap in her womb.

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Now I'm trying to put my feet

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in Elizabeth's shoes right now.

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So if you know the Christmas story,

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imagine you've got Mary, you've got Joseph,

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the Manger, the angels, the whole nine yards,

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the shepherds, everyone's there.

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And basically everything that you can get

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in a nativity set if you buy it at Target for $17.99.

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No, I'm just kidding,

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it really is on sale though for real.

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Ok, that doesn't matter.

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I'm putting myself in Elizabeth shoes

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because imagine Elizabeth is not at the scene

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and she's not even talked about.

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But I think she should be because she was busy

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having a miraculous baby of her own

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months before her -- wait for it -- cousin Mary.

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Yes, Mary and Elizabeth are cousins.

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Before Mary even met the angel.

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Now, Mary and Elizabeth are cousins, their relatives,

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and we know that Mary is Elizabeth's little cousin.

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And we know this because the Bible says

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Elizabeth was old.

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It's blunt. It's not even sugarcoating

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calling her elderly or seasoned.

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It's just like she was old.

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And what may seem cruel is actually crucial

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because that bluntness is what lets us know

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that she was well past her childbearing years

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and that her pregnancy would have been scientifically

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and physically impossible.

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Now, this is not the first time that

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God would have used a miraculous baby

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to begin an epic story.

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Hundreds of years earlier two people

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by the name of Abraham and Sarah

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also had a miraculous baby

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that kicked off a series of epic events.

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And so here we are again, with two old people

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about to have a miracle baby.

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Now, the miracle was that she was having a baby

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as an older woman, but it was more than that,

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a miracle because she was having a baby

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after years of not being able to have a baby.

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She was barren. She was empty on the inside.

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She could not have a child,

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even if she tried and tried and tried.

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Now imagine, like I said, I'm trying to put myself

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in Elizabeth's space and in her shoes,

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what that would have emotionally felt like.

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What would it have been like to want to do

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the one thing that you probably believed

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you were created for, to have a child,

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and not be able to do it.

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She would have been emotionally and socially outcast,

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shamed, hurt, defeated.

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And yet the Bible calls her faithful.

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Now, if you're tracking with me, you might be wondering,

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Hannah, where in the world is the goodness of God?

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And honestly, I'm with you.

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I don't know, child, I do not know.

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No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

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That's a good question, though.

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My point is you have a good question,

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because Elisabeth was probably finally

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in the place where she was OK with being barren.

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She had spent years with the whispers,

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and she was probably finally over it.

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She probably was just like, "You know what?

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Me and my husband, who's a priest,

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are going to live lives of service and ministry

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pouring out into our community."

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And that is right around the time

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when things started to shake up.

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So let's hear how the story starts.

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- In the time of Herod, King of Judea,

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there was a priest named Zachariah,

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who belonged to the priestly division of Abuja.

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His wife, Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron.

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Both of them are righteous in the sight of God,

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observing all of the Lord's commands

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and decrees blamelessly.

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But they were childless

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because Elizabeth was not able to conceive

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and they both were very old.

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Then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah,

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standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

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When Zechariah saw him, he was startled

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and was gripped with fear.

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But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah,

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your prayer has been heard.

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Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son,

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and you are to call him John.

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He will be a joy and delight to you,

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and many will rejoice because of his birth.

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For he will be great in the sight of the Lord,

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and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit

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even before he is born.

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He will bring back many of the people of Israel

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to the Lord, their god."

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Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this?

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I am an old man and my wife is well along in years."

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The angel said to him, "I am Gabriel.

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I stand in the presence of God and I have been sent

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to speak to you and tell you this good news.

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And now you will be silent

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and not able to speak until the day happens

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because you did not believe my words,

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which will come true at their appointed time."

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- The angel actually visited her husband.

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I know, I know, I said it visited Elizabeth,

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but that's like the same difference-ish,

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because, you know, two become one, that whole thing.

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Well, anyway, the semantics doesn't matter.

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The point is an angel came,

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and there is a lot to unpack in the scripture

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and maybe even some question marks.

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But one of the things that stick out to me the most

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is when Zachariah asked, "How can I be sure of it?"

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And it sticks out because

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I think I would ask the same thing.

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I think after a life of disappointment,

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maybe some unanswered prayers, some broken dreams,

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some prayers in my own life

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that I've just given up on praying,

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I think I would ask the same thing.

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And I'm going to dare to say that, Zachariah and I,

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maybe we aren't alone in that thinking.

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Maybe that's you as well.

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So Elizabeth's husband, Zachariah, he comes home, right?

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And he's mute, like, he is mute.

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He was talking before he went to work.

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And then he came home from work.

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And now he's not talking and he's trying to sign to her.

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He's like, "We're going to have a baby.

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His baby is going to be named John.

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It's going to be special. It's going to be amazing.

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It's going to be this really cool thing."

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And I can only imagine that Elizabeth is like,

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"Are you playing a sick joke on me?

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What is happening?"

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She might be asking God, "Where is Your goodness?

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Are you joking right now? Where is it in this moment?"

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And you know what?

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I think that may be the goodness of God

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looks like Zachariah shutting up.

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Yeah, I know that's shocking, but I think

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it was a good thing because in the next moment,

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it happened just as Gabriel said it would.

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Elizabeth does get pregnant and for like 2.5 seconds,

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all things science take a backseat because

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something supernatural is taking place.

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The Bible says that Elizabeth became pregnant,

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and she went into seclusion for five months.

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Now, that little detail about seclusion

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is actually unclear.

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We aren't sure why she decided to be secluded.

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Maybe she was sick, maybe she was just over it,

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didn't feel like being bothered.

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But it doesn't matter because what we do know

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is that it made her next visitor that much more special.

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At some point during Elizabeth's seclusion,

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way on the other side of town, the Angel Gabriel

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is busy starting the Christmas story as we know it.

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He appears to Mary

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and he tells her of the birth of Jesus.

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And shortly after that, Mary comes to visit Elizabeth.

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- At that time, Mary got ready and hurried

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to a town in the hill country of Judea,

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where she entered Zechariah's home

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and greeted Elizabeth.

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When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,

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the baby leaped in her womb

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and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

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And a loud voice, she exclaimed,

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"Blessed are you among women

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and blessed is the child you will bear.

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But why am I so favored that

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the mother of my lord should come to me?

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As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

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the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

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Blessed is she who has believed that

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the Lord would fulfill His promises to her."

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- We're going to get right back

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to this story of Elizabeth, but I want you to know

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that we're here for you during this holiday season.

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If at any point in this episode you have questions,

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you want prayer, you need anything,

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just connect with us at online.crossroads.net.

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This whole thing, Crossroads, is funded by people,

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regular people who believe in what we're doing

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and want to see more of it.

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If you're a giver, thank you.

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And if you want to join the mission,

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you can give at Crossroads.net/give.

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Now back to Hannah.

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- So Mary goes to see Elizabeth

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and the Bible says she hurried there.

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And that hurrying is not her just like

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crossing the street.

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That's her traveling 90 miles with what I can imagine

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was probably morning sickness and by herself.

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Maybe she was tired.

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And she does this not just to drop off

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the baby shower gift,

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even though that's probably important.

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She does it because she wants to see

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if the Word of God came true.

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Now, when Mary arrives, it kicks off a series

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of supernatural events and all sorts of crazy things

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start happening.

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When Elizabeth hears Mary's voice for the first time,

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the baby inside of her leaps.

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Now I don't know about you,

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but I ain't never heard of no baby leaping.

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I've heard of it kicking and doing that weird thing

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where it leans up against your ribs

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and causing heartburn and maybe even doing

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that little alien swipe thing that I've seen.

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I've heard of all of that, but I've never heard

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of a baby leaping.

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And this baby leaps and right after that

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it kicks off a series of supernatural events

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because Elizabeth is right then

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filled with the Holy Spirit.

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And she's filled because she knows

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about the birth of Jesus,

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even before Mary can get it out of her mouth.

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Remember that the angel told Zachariah

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that the baby would be filled with the Spirit

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before he was born.

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And it's the Holy Spirit that allows Elizabeth,

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not just to regard Mary as her little cousin,

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but as the mother of the soon coming King, Jesus.

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Now, maybe you've yet to see

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where the goodness of God is in this story.

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Maybe you're like,

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Elizabeth actually hasn't experienced it,

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but I want you to hang on and see.

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Now the end of that video that you just saw,

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you heard Elizabeth say to Mary,

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"Blessed is she who has believed that

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the Lord would fulfill His promises to her."

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Now, she was talking to Mary,

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but she really could have been talking

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about both of them.

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She really could have been saying,

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"Blessed are us girlfriends, blessed are us BFFs,

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blessed are us cousins who believed

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that the Lord would fulfill His promises to us."

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Because the blessing, yes, was the child,

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but it wasn't just about the child who was on the way.

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The blessing was that Elizabeth and Mary

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both got to see and believe the goodness of God.

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Now what about you?

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Do you believe that God is good?

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That He has good things for you?

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In a sec we're going to sing a song

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and I want you to think about that very question:

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Do you believe that God is good?

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- See, I like that song

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because it's a song of faith and trust.

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It says, all my life, you've been faithful,

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all of my life you've been so, so good.

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And so with every breath that I'm able,

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I'm going to sing of the goodness of God.

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Now you've got to have some faith to sing that

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because there are days that you don't want

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to use your breath to think about the goodness of God

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because there are days

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where it doesn't feel like he's good.

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But I want to let you know something,

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we don't have to just think about the goodness of God.

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All we have to do is believe that He is good.

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This story takes place in the Book of Luke,

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and in that book alone,

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there's three different Greek translations

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of the word good.

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One of those translations is a Agathos,

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which means worthy of affirmation

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and morally excellent.

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You know, I think Elizabeth,

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who was described as a faithful woman,

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someone who revered God

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would have described God this way.

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She would have said, "Yeah, He's good,

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but in the sense that he is morally excellent.

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I know this because my elders told me so.

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I believe that He's good, but in the sense

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that he should be adored."

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You know, I think that after her miracle,

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she could have exclaimed God's goodness in another way.

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One that's more personal and one that requires trust.

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- When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby,

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she gave birth to a son.

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Her neighbors and relatives heard

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that the Lord had shown her great mercy

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and they shared her joy.

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They were going to name him after his father, Zachariah,

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but his mother spoke up and said,

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"No, he is to be called John."

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They said to her, "here is no one among your relatives

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who has that name."

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Then they made signs to his father

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to find out what he would like to name the child.

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He asked for a writing tablet,

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and to everyone's astonishment he wrote,

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"His name is John."

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Immediately, his mouth was open and his tongue set free,

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and he began to speak, praising God.

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All the neighbors were filled with awe

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and throughout the hill country of Judea

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people were talking about all these things.

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Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking,

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"What then is this child going to be?

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For the Lord's hand was with him."

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- Another translation for the word good

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is chrestos, which loosely translates

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to kindness or benevolence.

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So after receiving her miracle,

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Elizabeth and Zakariya can describe God,

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not just as a good God who's morally excellent,

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but a god who has shown them kindness,

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who has shown them benevolent in giving them a son.

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And not only can Elizabeth and Zachariah say this,

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but everybody around them gets to say this

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because they're witnessing the miracle.

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They're seeing the benevolence come to life

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and they are in awe of the goodness of God.

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Now, like I said, that song we just sang,

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it takes faith because sometimes singing

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of the goodness of God is difficult.

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Because some days you may feel like Elizabeth

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where you feel like a failure.

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You feel dry and broken and barren

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and there are broken dreams and unanswered prayers

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and things and places that you thought you be

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and you just aren't there.

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Or maybe you're more like Zechariah

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and you're struggling to believe in general,

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how can God be good when things don't work out?

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How can God be good when all of these negative

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and undesirable things keep coming my way?

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Those are all valid questions,

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and I hear you and I empathize with you

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because I've been there.

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This Christmas, we're talking about receiving peace.

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Well, peace comes when we put our trust in God.

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Peace comes when we believe that there is a kind

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and benevolent God who wants us to have good things.

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And all of those good things, whatever they are for you,

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they're available to you to receive right now.

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Because when we believe it helps to put us

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in this posture to receive God's goodness.

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You don't have to be a relative of Jesus.

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You don't have to be visited by an angel,

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defy science, and you definitely don't have to have

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a baby leap in your womb to receive the goodness of God.

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You simply have to believe.

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- Elizabeth's story is the start to

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the Christmas story that we never knew,

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and it can change the way we respond to God

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this Christmas.

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Part of what makes Christmas amazing

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is the opportunity to give back.

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As a community we go out of our way

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to bless people during the holiday season.

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One way that you can join us in doing that

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is through the Christmas Gift Drive.

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For more info on that, just go to online.crossroads.net.

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Now there are more Christmas stories

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that you may not know that can impact your life today,

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and that's exactly what we're talking about

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next week on Crossroads.

00:19:48

Our modern take on Christmas

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is that we celebrate Jesus by waking up,

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running to the Christmas tree and opening presents.

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In other words, we get what we want now, today.

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But there's a star on top of your tree

00:20:02

begging you to take a different perspective.

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