Joseph was worried about Mary and her pregnancy. He couldn’t see the blessing we understand today. God’s gifts are often wrapped up in adverse circumstances and challenges. Fear can limit your perspective and make you give up before you come into the blessing.
fear can make you give up something that
God is going to use to bless you fear
can make you try to put away as Joseph
did the only redemption that was
available to him he was about to give it
away because of fear be careful that you
do not allow fear to rob you of God’s
gifts this is the posture
oh thank you for allowing me to be a
part of this very special day as we
commemorate the birth of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ this is a great time
and I want you to understand how
significant it is to Christians all over
the world to acknowledge the entrance of
the divine into the human Jesus Christ
the Lord of glory the message don’t be
afraid of the gift may it bless you
today enjoy your family and friends
enjoy your life and from our house to
your house
Merry Christmas you know when we hear
beautiful songs that have been shared
with us o come all ye faithful O Holy
Night o little town of Bethlehem when we
watch the beautiful renditions that are
depicted through the auspices of
Hollywood and the modern technology of
television DVD and VCR all come together
in collaboration to bring to life the
miracles the magic the Wonder and the
splendor of Christmas sharing with us
the great story of our Lord’s entrance
into the world that the King of Kings
the Lord of lords of the mighty God
would step down from eternity down into
time wrap himself up in flesh that he
acquired from the dressing room of
Mary’s womb and Tabernacle amongst men
is calls for even angels to celebrate
the glory and the presence of God and
because of this great gift that God has
given to us the world stands in awe and
the church in spend difference praise
unto God celebrating the gift that he
has given us through Jesus Christ and
that gift expressly is eternal life
without his coming into the world and
without him taking on human form and
becoming kin to me he could not redeem
me as kinsman redeemer from the eels and
the plight of humanity and the
consequences of sinful endeavors are all
eradicated in the presence of Jesus
Christ for wherever Jesus
ears tits heaven there and whenever
Jesus shows up
deliverance it’s bound to happen we
celebrate his entrance into the world
but be careful in all of the splendor
and all the glitter and the pageantry
and the beautiful lights and the
gift-giving and all of the wonderful
things that we do to commemorate the
birth of the Lord the depictions of the
Manges and all of the holy scenes that
we have be careful to understand that
the first Christmas was not quite as
beautiful as the ones we see today the
first Christmas was not filled with all
the splendor and all the wonderment all
the fine foods and all the pageantry and
all the wrapping paper then even golfing
or a living room right now the first
Christmas was not even feel with all the
joy and all the praise and all the
wonder that we feel right now
particularly in the life of some people
who were directly affected by Christ
coming into the world you would think
that there would be joy but the reality
if most in generally with the gifts God
gives us we have joy in retrospect as we
look back and see that his plan was
better than ours I want to warn you my
brothers and sisters that initially when
God gives you a gift it does not always
evoke joy and praise and splendor it
often causes confusion mayhem and chaos
and you wonder in your own mind whether
this is a gift from God or a plot from
the enemy to destroy your very life you
would think that Joseph would be filled
with glee and excitement about the birth
of Jesus Christ that God had chosen the
woman that Joseph had chosen that God
had set her aside even it’s Joseph etc
side that God himself had selected her
should have eased all ill in his mind as
to whether she was a virtuous woman but
sometimes being chosen of God and
selected of God and receiving
just from God leaves a fellow in
disarray and so when we see Joseph we
don’t see him dancing and celebrating we
don’t see him
opening up gifts with joy and exuberant
no we see Joseph worried and upset
because generally when God gives the
gift
it often worries you before it blesses
you
Oh frankly at the time that Joseph leaps
on the pages of this holy writ he is not
trying to find a way to get closer to
the baby Jesus or his mother his mother
who is pregnant with him no he’s trying
to figure out how can I get out of this
just as quietly and if calmly as
possible
without drawing any attention to myself
just show me the door so that I can exit
and get away from this gift I want to
warn you that many times when God gives
you a gift
instead of running toward it our
propensity is to run from it because
after all who knows what’s in a gift
given until it’s unwrapped
perhaps it is not so much the gift that
I want to warn you about because
ultimately God’s gifts always will pay
off in the end perhaps it’s not the gift
that I should sound the alarm about and
tell you to watch out for perhaps it is
the wrapping paper because God’s
greatest gifts are often wrapped in
problems in anxiety and worry and chaos
God’s greatest gifts often come to us
camouflage in a fine array of disgusting
perilous circumstances that seem
insurmountable great gifts can come
wrapped up and being fired from a job
great gifts can come wrapped up in a
package where somebody you thought you
couldn’t live without walked away and
left you in fact God can give you a gift
and you not feel gifted at all in fact
being gifted can be a problem with God
because many times when God gives you a
gift people are not happy for you they
don’t celebrate the gift that God has
given you they they don’t come to
worship the gift they often come to kill
the gift to destroy the gift I suggest
to you my brothers and sisters that we
must move beyond the meat and mercury
borders of just discussing the birth of
Jesus Christ from his historical
perspectives as wonderful as it may be
but to extract from this historical
illustration some contemporary word of
wisdom that we can use it against the
challenges that we face today is what
makes our faith vibrant and relevant and
effective we didn’t come to just
commemorate a historical God for
something that happened 2,000 years ago
we came to recognize a relevant God who
is still affecting change and
contemporary society the very first
thing the angel says to worry
Joseph is fear not touch somebody and
say fear not why did they tell them to
fear not because fear can paralyze your
faith fear can limit your perspective
fear can intimidate you from growth fear
can make you give up on something
prematurely not recognizing that God is
not through working his magic and his
miracle if the gift he’s given you fear
can make you give up something that God
is going to use to bless you fear can
make you try to put away as Joseph
feared the only redemption that was
available to him he was about to give it
away because of fear be careful that you
do not allow fear to rob you of God’s
gifts there are three different types of
fear that I believe engulf Joseph mine
and I want to share them with you today
not only so that you might have a deeper
and more intrinsic understanding of
Joseph and the propensity of the fear on
his life but that you might be able to
effectively use them in your own life as
you face God’s gifts new jobs new
marriages new children new opportunities
new obstacles new enemies can all be
gifts from God still to come on the
Protestants he said in Revelations I
have set before you an open door can you
receive that word for yourself that God
has
before you in the coming year he has set
its firm is anchored his concrete is
unbreakable is under invest is unmovable
he has set before you an open door he
has a place in mind somebody ought to
thank God for shut doors a piecing store
God can give you some things that your
money and not buy and provision for you
need he already has the manger in place
while man was shutting doors so don’t be
afraid of the gift God gives don’t be
afraid when he bypasses a hotel and
takes you to the barn because God has a
way of turning a barn into a penthouse
suite don’t be afraid of the gift God
gives for helping us reach others with
your best gift we would like to give you
don’t be afraid of the gift God gifts on
CD as well as a bonus message the
Rainmaker
on DVD and when your gift is $150 or
more receive our blessed and loved
calendar a blessed and loved journal for
recording your experiences to new
heights and our blessed and Luft
inspiration cup when you visit our
website or call one 800 Bishop 2 today
you
I know you’re used to the traditional
gifts that come wrapped in beautiful
packages but not God he doesn’t wrap his
gifts that way there were three things
that I believe that caused Joseph to be
in a conundrum of fear and adversity
number one was the fear of perception
what will people think often when God
gives you a gift he gives you a gift
that called this you to become
controversial in the eyes of people and
if you were not so gifted my brothers
and sisters you would not be so hated
if you will notice our society we seldom
waste hate on people who are not gifted
and if you understand it correctly it’s
a privilege to be hated for his namesake
it’s an honor to be so chosen and so
selected and so gifted that somebody has
set out a decree to kill it I want to
tell you somebody’s on the hit list of
hell but it’s only because you’re gifted
touch somebody and say you’re gifted
even if you didn’t receive anything from
Christmas even if you’re in a nursing
home and nobody came by to see you even
if you’re a lovely mother and your kids
didn’t recognize you for Christmas you
are still gifted with life and health
and strength and integrity and ideas and
concepts that create a potential oh my
god
you are gifted if you do not allow fear
to rob you fear perceptions what will
they think what will they say what will
they do how will they feel about me the
fear of misperceptions often robs us of
the gifts that God came to give us so on
this Christmas morning I would encourage
you to shake off the fear of perception
because if you can shake off the fear of
perception on Christmas then in the new
year you’ll be ready to receive the
abundance I’ve got something to tell you
there’s something coming for you in the
new year that will justify
but you can’t receive it if you’re more
concerned about perceptions than you are
receiving the power of what God has to
give you number two I want to warn you
against the fear for provisions can I
afford this gifts do I have what it
takes to maintain this gift I never will
forget at the young man just starting to
work and make a nice living I decided to
take my mother out to dinner took her to
a very nice restaurant I grew up in an
age in an era where we didn’t go out to
dinner very much and I took it to a very
plush and posh restaurant to show her
the depth and the height and the breadth
of my love toward her and we sat down if
the waiter drop a white linen into our
lap and begin to discuss the options and
entrees that were available to us and I
noticed peeked over top of the menu that
my mother did not seem particularly
happy her reaction was not what I had
expected it to be at all she peered over
top of the menu not to say what a great
son I was she said child have you seen
these prices
I was frustrated I said mother I didn’t
bring you here to worry about how much
it cost I brought you here to enjoy the
meal be careful that God doesn’t take
you a place of blessings and you’re so
worried about how much it cost that you
don’t enjoy the meal I am NOT trying to
imply that Joseph had no resources at
all obviously he had enough resources to
have a diary in order to espouse the
virgin to be his bride obviously he had
enough resources that as they traveled
he and his pregnant fiancee moving from
place to place
he wasn’t looking for benevolence he was
looking for hotels you don’t look for a
hotel if you have no money but when you
are dealing with provisions you must
understand that sometimes you need
provisions that money cannot buy Joseph
had the money but the inns were all
filled and it did a frustrating thing
that by time by the time you realize the
money you need for the places you need
to go suddenly you find out that money
is not the only provision that you need
to sustain you where God in other words
I’m trying to tell you that God can give
you some things that your money cannot
buy
touch it later and tell them God’s going
to give you something that your money
cannot buy
don’t be afraid fear not fear not God
has the provisions covered he already
has a place prepared for you he already
has a provision set up for you and when
people shut the door on you it’s only a
sign that God is about to open another
door in your life oh my god I don’t know
who I’m preaching to this Christmas Day
but somebody ought to thank God for shut
doors
look at the man say he shut the door to
open a new one
lord I thank you for shutting doors say
they shut him out you can’t come to this
hotel you can’t stay at this motel
we’re feel for the night no vacancies
over here but God had an open door when
man closed in the door God opens another
door to God be the glory
from the doors he opens and for the ways
he’s made
how many people are believing God for
open doors oh I thank him oh how I think
him for doors he opens no man can shut
and doors he shuts no man can open God
will open a door for you and you don’t
have to live in fear of somebody
shutting the door that God has opened he
said in Revelations
I have set before you an open door can
you receive that word for yourself that
God has set before you in the coming
year he has set its firm is anchored is
concrete is unbreakable is unravel is
unmovable he has set before you an open
door
tetra Davis they don’t be afraid of the
gifts God gives
yes it is true wherever God guides he
will provide I wish I had some he will
provide folks in here today
he will provide number three the fear
for Providence the fear for Providence
Providence simply God’s guidance the
fear if I go will you go with me if I
say yes to this Lu door and this new
opportunity and this new direction if I
seize the gift that I used to run from
if I embrace the thing that historically
I’ve been terrified I could do it better
if I knew for sure that you were going
to go with me because I know if you go
with me the storm can break out the
lightning can flash the Thunder can roll
and the boat still will not sink as long
as I understand that you are with me
maybe I should understand that Christmas
looks better in retrospect than it did
in reality and maybe life looks better
when you look back at it than it does
while you’re going through it and maybe
there’s somebody in here right now
who’s rejoicing about something that you
used to cry about
maybe it’s in retrospect that God
calibrates the issues and the
vicissitudes of life maybe it’s when we
look back at it that we say you know
what it was good for me that I would
have flicked it because if I didn’t go
through what I went through if I had not
gone through it if I hadn’t faced it if
I hadn’t endured it if I hadn’t have
been fired if I hadn’t have been
rejected if I hadn’t have been turned
down if I had not been ostracized I
wouldn’t have found the door that God
had in store in fact thank you for
hating me thank you for leaving me thank
you for rejecting me thank you for
disappointing me thank you for shutting
the door and telling me you can’t stay
here you’re not welcome here
thank you if you had not done that I
would have never gotten to spend the
night in a barn serenaded by angels
illuminated by stars and behold the
wondrous splendor of God’s provision
often takes you away from normal places
because where God is going to bless you
maybe outside of the box outside of the
system away from the norm in a place
that you never thought a blessing could
be God may bless you in an unlikely
place don’t be afraid of the gifts God
gives don’t be afraid when he bypasses a
hotel and takes you to the barn because
God has a way of turning a barn into a
penthouse suite don’t be afraid
of the gift God gives I know it’s
Christmas morning and you’re excited
you’re all dressed up in your you’re
ready to hurry up and get home and open
up gifts and eat turkeys but tips three
or four people tells God is up to
something yes God is up to something in
every barn in every manger with the
moving of every cow the gathering of
every lamb in the midst of every
gathering of hay and goats and sheep God
is up to something
any time God takes a holy thing and puts
it in a mundane thing God is up to
something
any time God promised you a blessing and
you see yourself going down and stood
them up God is up to something
any time God takes you outside in the
system who am i preaching to God
God is
he’s up to something stop being afraid
of change
because whenever God is getting ready to
rearrange your life you’ve got to open
up and say change whatever needs to be
safe move whatever needs to be moved
shake whatever needs to be shaken I’m
available to you I trust you I opened
this gift by faith God is up to
something
take a look inside
fear not Joseph
fear not calm down Joseph you’re so
troubled that you’re worried in your
sleep and I had to speak to you and your
dreams because when you’re awake you’re
so worried you’re not listening to me
and so I invaded the only space left
available to speak to you when you
finally give up on your thoughts long
enough to hear my thoughts I spoke to
you in the night because you’re not
listening at me and the light fear not
Joseph hold somebody’s hand and say fear
not the Lord is with you
here are a few takeaway points that I
want you to get out of this text he says
fear not Joseph that that is within Mary
has been conceived by the Holy Ghost
what are you saying stop worrying about
how things are going to turn out because
whatever God starts he will finish it
hate to stop you right there but I’ll be
right back
he has a place in mind somebody ought to
thank God for shut doors a piecing store
God can give you some things that your
money and not buy and provision for you
need he already had the manger in place
while man was shutting doors so don’t be
afraid of the gift God gives don’t be
afraid when he bypasses a hotel and
takes you to the barn because God had
the way of parenting a barn into a
penthouse suite don’t be afraid of the
gift God gives for helping us reach
others with your best gift we would like
to give you don’t be afraid of the gift
God gives on CD as well as a bonus
message the rain maker on DVD and when
your gift is $150 or more receive our
blessed and love calendar a blessed and
loved journal for recording your
experiences to new heights and our
blessed and Luft inspiration cup when
you visit our website or call one 800
Bishop 2 today
just in time for the holidays
Bishop TD jakes and The Potter’s House
present this Christmas complete with
your favorite Christmas classics like
Silent Night the Christmas story oh holy
night with a special holiday prayer from
Bishop Jake’s and more receive your CD
today when you visit us online or call
1-800 Bishop 2 also check out this CD
and other holiday specials when you log
on to TD jakes org as we come to a close
today I pray that God’s choicest
blessings would be given to you and that
you would have the Grace and the faith
to receive the gift because it does take
courage to receive what God has for you
our series don’t be afraid of the gift
is challenging you to be all that you
can be may God bless you may heaven
smile upon you is my prayer
this is the