Conceived by the Spirit: The Supernatural Christmas

Christmas begins with the Holy Spirit. "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." Before there is a manger, before there are angels and shepherds, before there is a star — there is the Spirit. The same Spirit who hovered over the waters at creation now hovers over a virgin, and a new creation begins. The virgin birth is supernatural — and we do not apologize for that. In a culture that reduces everything to natural explanations, the church declares: the conception of Jesus was a miracle. It was not a metaphor. It was not a myth. It was the raw, creative power of the Holy Spirit doing what only the Holy Spirit can do — bringing life where life was impossible, creating something entirely new from nothing but the will of God and the yes of a teenage girl. Mary's response is the model for every Spirit-filled believer: "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." She did not understand the mechanics. She did not ask for a detailed plan. She surrendered to the Spirit. And the Spirit filled her — literally. The Word became flesh inside her body. The presence of God took up residence in her womb. Mary was the first person to be filled with Christ, and from that filling came the salvation of the world. This is the pattern of the Spirit-filled life: surrender, filling, new creation. The same Spirit who overshadowed Mary wants to overshadow you. Not to give you a biological miracle, but to birth something in you — a calling, a ministry, a transformation, a word that the world needs to hear. Christmas is the Spirit's greatest work, and the Spirit has not stopped working.

Everything about Christmas is supernatural. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary — supernatural. A virgin conceives — supernatural. Angels appear to shepherds — supernatural. A star guides wise men across a continent — supernatural. The eternal God takes on human flesh — the most supernatural event in history. We serve a supernatural God, and we should not be embarrassed by the supernatural elements of the Christmas story. The moment we start explaining away the miracles is the moment we lose the Gospel. If God cannot do the impossible, then He is not God. If the Spirit cannot create life in a virgin's womb, then the Spirit cannot raise the dead. And if the dead are not raised, our faith is in vain. But the supernatural is not just for then. It is for now. The same Spirit who orchestrated the virgin birth is active today. The same power that overshadowed Mary is available to the church. The gifts of the Spirit — prophecy, healing, tongues, discernment — are the ongoing evidence that the God of Christmas is still at work. Pentecost is the continuation of Christmas: at Christmas, the Spirit filled one woman with the presence of God; at Pentecost, the Spirit filled one hundred and twenty. And the Spirit has not stopped filling. If you have been living a natural Christianity — going through the motions, relying on your own strength, keeping the supernatural at arm's length — Christmas is your invitation to come alive. The God who did the impossible in Bethlehem wants to do the impossible in your life. The Spirit who conceived Christ in Mary wants to conceive something in you. Surrender to the Spirit tonight. Say what Mary said: "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." And watch what the Spirit does.

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them." The glory of the Lord — the kabod, the shekinah — broke through the natural world and flooded that field with light. The shepherds were "terrified." The Greek is phobeo — they were seized with fear. Because the supernatural glory of God is not comfortable. It is overwhelming. It is awe. It is the realization that you are standing in the presence of something infinitely greater than yourself. The Black Church has always understood that Christmas is a celebration — that when God shows up, the response is not polite applause but whole-body praise. The shepherds were terrified, but the angels were singing. "Glory to God in the highest!" This was not a hymn sung at a reasonable volume. This was the heavenly host — an army of angels — breaking through the sky with a declaration that shook the foundations of the earth. Heaven could not contain its joy. The praise was too big for the spiritual realm, so it spilled over into the physical. That is what worship should sound like when we understand what Christmas means. Not a funeral march. Not a whispered prayer. A shout. A song. A dance. A celebration that the King of kings has arrived. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward all." If that does not make you want to shout, you have not heard it yet. The fire fell in a field. The glory shone around shepherds. Heaven sang to the working class at midnight. If that is not a Pentecostal Christmas, nothing is. Come Holy Spirit. Fall fresh. Set this Christmas on fire.