Mother's Day 2021*

Mother's Day carries a very important message for the Body of Christ. From the very beginning, the LORD gave Adam revelation concerning mothers. The name that Adam gave his wife was a prophetic name. God had told Adam and his wife that she would bear children, even though she had not yet had a child. Because of this prophetic promise, Adam named her "Eve": "And Adam called his wife's name Eve (meaning "life, living"); because she was the mother of all living." (Gen. 3:20). Adam believed the word of the LORD in naming Eve. There are many examples of women in scripture who had been barren, but were later able to bear children because God "opened her womb" (Gen. 29:39, 30:22). In fact, God made a promise to His people, both male and female regarding the ability to bear or bring forth: "Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle." (Deut. 7:14). The blessing of fruitfulness (v. 13) was not limited by gender. Males received the same prophetic promise. Those in Christ walk in this truth as well: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28). We are all familiar with the miracle of the conception of Jesus. The angel prophesied to Mary, a young unmarried woman, that she had found favor with the Lord, and would have a child, a son: "And behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus (in Hebrew-Yeshua, or Salvation). He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon (eperchomai- supervene, overtake, to come upon) thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow (episkiazo- envelop in a haze of brilliancy, a shining cloud surrounding and eveloping persons with brightness; root meaning: an image cast by the interception of light) thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Lk. 1:31-35). The miraculous conception would be accomplished by the power of God through the Holy Ghost. We can also see that in the meaning of the words used, brilliancy, light, and brightness, is involved. We will see more of this later. In Mary's case, she was also informed by the angel that her cousin, Elizabeth, who had been barren, had also conceived a son in her old age (Lk. 1:36). Jesus talked about this same power of the Holy Spirit to His disciples, who were men. As Jesus gave them His Great Commision to preach and teach the Gospel, the repentance and remission of sins in His name, to all nations, He added: "And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued (endyo- to sink into (clothing), arrayed in) with power from on high." (Lk. 24:46-49). Jesus again mentioned this power to His disciples in Acts: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come (the same word, "eperchomai", see above, as was used by the angel to Mary) upon you (: and ye shall be witnesses unto me...and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8). The disciples needed to be "endued" from above, by the Holy Spirit, just as Mary needed to be come upon by the same power, in order to go forth in the Great Commission and be fruitful in the preaching of the Gospel. As the angel explained to Mary, being "overshadowed" by the Holy Spirit in order to become fruitful involves great light or brilliancy, according to the Greek word episkiazo used. The same power was involved in both cases. We can also see the importance of "brilliancy, and brightness", in Jesus' parable of the ten virgins. It was only the five wise virgins, having enough oil (always associated with the Holy Spirit) in their lamps for light, who would enter into the marriage celebration with the bridegroom. The five foolish (without oil for light) would be locked out when "the door was shut"(Mt. 25:1-10). The same shining brilliance is described by Daniel of the "wise ones" in the last days who know their God and DO (great exploits), even in the time of extreme tribulation (Dan. 11:32-35). Daniel also described the wise as shining: "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they shall turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." (Dan. 12:3). Isaiah prophesied the promise of God this way: "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing and cry loud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth...and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." (Isa. 54:1-3). The promise of God to come upon, to endue, to overshadow and empower with the Holy Spirit is to all wo are in Christ, male and female. None of God's people are to be barren any longer, but to be given power to increase, and to be fruitful. *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 5/9/21 message to the church. To contact: PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 or Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com Look for us on Facebook, Twitter, and endtimeschool.com