Make Room This Christmas

If you can make what's important to God important to you, God will make what's important to you important to Him.

Let me say that again with some bass in your voice: If you can make what's important to God important to you, God will make what's important to you important to Him.

Over 2,000 years ago at the very first Christmas, there was no room for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to be birthed. Mary and Joseph couldn't find a place, and Jesus was born in a manger. It's amazing to me that in the busyness of that time, they didn't have room for the birth of Jesus and today, we face the same challenge.

Don't Push Jesus Out of Christmas

And in the busyness of our times, especially this Christmas season, you can push Jesus out. You have so many Christmas parties to go to, so much shopping to do, so many decorations to hang. And some of them are called "Christmas parties" but there's no celebration of Christ. We have all this busyness of life, and we often don't carve out any time for Jesus.

What I've learned is oftentimes what we do is we have this box, and we put Jesus in this box and say, "Jesus, just sit still over here. I got stuff I need to do."

And you limit Him to the box, and whatever you limit Him to, you have limited the access to the things He could do for you.

You put Him in a box and say, "This is all He is, He's just Christmas Jesus," versus the Lord of your life, the Lord of everything you do.

The Woman Who Made Room

In Second Kings 4:8, we meet a woman who made room. Now there came a day when Elisha went over to Shunem, where there was a prominent, influential woman. She persuaded him to eat a meal.

Let me dig into this "persuaded" word. It says she invited him and would not be denied. She fastened unto him, she seized him, being strong, obstinate. "You're not going to pass my house without coming in!"

Sometimes you have to understand a moment. She sensed something in her spirit that this is a man of God, and "I'm not going to let him pass me by."

Sometimes we allow situations to pass us by, not realizing that you were with an angel, not realizing that this might be your moment.

She said, "You know what? I will not be denied. You're going to eat at my house."

Good Food, Right Atmosphere

Afterward, whenever he passed by, he stopped there for a meal. Now we have to assume the food had to be good and the atmosphere had to be right for him to keep coming back.

Listen, if you're going to invite the man of God over to your house, make sure you taste it first. And if it don't taste good, just go to Publix and buy some chicken!

First Timothy 6:17 says, "As for the rich in this present world, instruct them not to be conceited or arrogant, nor set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly and unceaseingly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

God has no problem with you having stuff. The question is: does stuff have you?

If you got some, He has no problem with it as long as you're rich in good works. Be generous, willing to share with others.

The Conscience Enlightened by the Spirit

She said to her husband, "Behold, I sense that this is a holy man." I dug into that, she hung around him for a minute through him eating, and she realized that he was not a wolf.

Romans 9:1 really helped me: "I'm telling you the truth in Christ, I'm not lying. My conscience testifies with me, enlightened and prompted by the Holy Spirit."

Your conscience works in concert to connect you with the Holy Spirit.

What we often say is, "I feel something, I sense something", that's your conscience being enlightened by the Holy Spirit to get you a revelation.

A Bold Request to Her Husband

Verse 10, here it is, look what she said: "Please let us make a small, fully walled upper room on the housetop and put a bed there for him with a table, a chair, and a lampstand. Then whenever he comes to visit us, he can turn in there."

Okay, let's deal with this relationship. Number one: she's a good woman. Number two: she's in a good marriage.

Most women are not going to tell their husband, "I found a man who speaks to my heart, and I want you to build a room so whenever he comes, he can stay with us."

That's a good marriage! If you have any marriage issues, this is not going to roll. She wants to do a total home makeover for him. She wants to take over your bonus room where the pool table's at, all your football paraphernalia!

She's asking her husband to make room.

Once God Gets in the Heart, He Gets in the Home

You know what God told me? He said, "Once God got in the heart, He was going to get in the home."

Once you give Him a little space, if you allow it, it will permeate every aspect of your life.

Then she gets specific: "I want it fully padded", that's drywall. "He needs a table, a bed, a lamp." She's saying, "I want to make it so comfortable for him that he doesn't have to go study anywhere. He'll be secluded so he can study and pray."

You know what hit me? Something happened when he came in that house. Something shifted when he came to the house. That shift changed something. "I like how I feel when he's here. The atmosphere shifted, the presence of God showed up, and I want more of this. So I just don't want him to come every now and then, I want him to stay!"

The Bible says taste and see that the Lord is good. And once you allow God to take residence in your heart, it's hard to go back to where you used to be.

Something has changed when that light bulb comes on and you start to hear God's voice for yourself, and now you feel His presence. You can't change now, you've come too far to go back now.

The Kingdom Exchange System

Now first off, I never saw this before, but God just dropped it on my spirit: It could not have been a small room. Because whenever you have room for you and your servant, that wasn't a corner spot, that's an ensuite. She made enough space for his servant to stay and a room for him.

She did it right!

Verse 13: Now he said to Gehazi, "Say to her, 'Now you have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Would you like to be mentioned to the king or the captain of the army?'"

Remember this: Whatever you do for the Kingdom, it's coming back.

He says if you just give a prophet a cup of water, it's coming back. The Kingdom of God is an exchange system. Whatever you give, it's coming back to you, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.

She answered, "I live among my own people in peace and security. I have no need for special favors."

God Knows the Desires of Your Heart

Later Elisha said, "What then is to be done for her?"

Gehazi answered, "Well, she has no son and her husband is old."

Oh! I see an opportunity here, because it was not a blessing to be a woman without a son.

Now she didn't ask for it. But remember this: The Bible says God will give you the desires of your heart. You don't have to say it—God already knows.

Psalms 37:4 reads, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires and the petitions of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."

What she did is she made what was important to God important to her, and then God's going to make what's important to her important to Him.

What you cannot do in the natural, you have to tap into the supernatural.

If you could allow God to go to work on your behalf, all she had to do was make room for God and let God be God. He is not a man that He shall lie, nor the son of man that He shall repent. If He said it, He will do it.

The Miracle Announcement

Second Kings 4:15 says, "He said, 'Call her.' So Gehazi called her and she came and stood in the doorway. Elisha said, 'At this season next year, you will embrace a son.'"

She said, "No, my Lord! Oh God, don't lie to me!"

Wait a second, I thought she said she was good!

Oftentimes we feel as if God can't do it, so we're afraid to ask because for whatever reason we feel that it may not be God's will.

We rest in that, not realizing God can do exceedingly and abundantly!

Ephesians 3:20: "Now unto Him who is able to carry out His purpose, do superabundantly more than we all dare to ask or think, infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, dreams, according to His power that's at work within us."

She wasn't ready for that!

Nothing Is Too Hard for God

First Corinthians 2:9 reads, "But it is written: Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither into the heart of man what God has in store for those who walk uprightly, who hold Him in affection and reverence, who obey Him, who gratefully recognize the benefits He's bestowed."

She would not let him pass by without her doing something.

Genesis 18:14 says, "Is there anything too difficult, too wonderful for the Lord? At this appointed time when the season comes for delivery, you will have a son."

Is there anything too hard for God?

I know some of us have been in the labor and delivery room for a long time. I'm not just talking about a baby, I'm talking about a prayer you've been praying. And sometimes when you've been in the labor and delivery room for so long, you start to lose faith like maybe it's not God's will.

You have to stay in faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

When She Made Room in Her Home, God Made Room in Her Womb

Second Corinthians 4:17—but the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that season the next year, just as Elisha had said to her.

Here's the word God gave me: When she made room in her home, God made room in her womb.

When she made room for Him, He filled the area that she lacked.

You know, there's something amazing that's happening at this church. I thought about Zakia Camorti—you have two boys, and doctors said you can't have more, and then... oh! I thought about Patrick and Nicole—years! I thought about Lori, I thought about June. I started thinking right now about all these people in this church who doctors said it could not be, it could not happen, but yet and still, we have these little ones running around!

Open All the Drawers

God showed me this. Imagine God is like a dresser with drawers. But sometimes we never pull out the drawer to see what God has for us.

He is Jehovah Jireh, He'll provide. That's one drawer. He is Jehovah Rapha, He'll heal. That's a whole other drawer. He is Jehovah Rohi, my Shepherd. That's a whole other drawer. He is Jehovah Shalom, my peace. That's another drawer. He is El Shaddai, the all-sufficient one. That's a whole other drawer. He is Jehovah Tsidkenu, my righteousness. That's a whole other drawer.

The challenge is we limit God to one drawer, but sometimes you've got to open the box up.

When you open the box up, you find out there's another thing, His name is Jesus. And Jesus has got a whole other package! See, with Jesus, He's got some drawers too. He's The Great I Am, He's the Way, He's the Truth, He's the Life, He's the Prince of Peace, He's the Lion of the tribe of Judah, He's the Messiah, He's my Savior, He's my Master, He's my Lord.

The challenge is sometimes you don't get to know all of Jesus because you always look at the outside, you never open your heart up to say, "God, let me see what You got for me."

But when you open your heart up, then you've got the Holy Spirit! See, the Holy Spirit has got a whole other drawer. He is my peace, the paraclete, He is my standby, He is my counselor, He's my help.

But sometimes we leave it right there and we don't open it up. There's so much to God, but we don't open it up. We have all these presents under the Christmas tree, but we never open up to see what God has for you this season.

The Greatest Christmas Gift

Today, open the gift, the greatest Christmas gift of all.

Jesus says, "I stand at the door of your heart and I knock. Will you let Me in?"

There's so much more I want to give to you. There's so much more I want to reveal to you. Will you let Me in?

This season, this Christmas, let this be the season you let God in. Let Him show you all He has for you. Don't let this Christmas pass like all the rest. Make room for the One who the season is really about.

Jeremiah 1:5: "Before the world was formed, I knew you and I set you aside for such a time as this."

He has so much for you.

Romans 10:9: "If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you shall be saved."

Salvation is not about perfection, it's about changing direction, following God, allowing Him to grow you.

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