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It Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings

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Luke 1:7, 13, 18 But they had no child, for Elizabeth was barren; and both were far advanced in years….But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zachariah, because your petition was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you must call his name John [God is favorable]….And Zachariah said to the angel, By what shall I know and be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.

A Wikipedia article regarding the colloquialism, It Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings, states: “This phrase is often used as a proverb. It means that one should not presume to know the outcome of an event which is still in progress. More specifically, the phrase is used when a situation is (or appears to be) nearing its conclusion. It cautions against assuming that the current state of an event is irreversible and clearly determines how or when the event will end. The phrase is generally understood to be a reference to opera sopranos, who were typically heavyset. The imagery of Wagner‘s opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and its last part, Götterdämmerung, is typically used in depictions accompanying uses of the phrase. The “fat lady” is thus the valkyrie Brünnhilde, who was traditionally presented as a very buxom lady. Her farewell scene lasts almost twenty minutes and leads directly to the finale of the whole Ring Cycle. As Götterdämmerung is about the end of the world (or at least the world of the Norse gods), in a very significant way “it is [all] over when the fat lady sings.”

This colloquialism definitely applies to what transpires between Zachariah and the angel Gabriel. What is truly astounding is Gabriels’ casual comment: your petition was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. Why is this astounding? Twice, Dr. Luke emphasizes the fact: both were far advanced in years, and Zachariahs belief: For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years. But that is not the astounding part. The astounding part is, your petition was heard! I have a hard time believing Zachariah and Elizabeth were still praying for a child. In fact it is easy to believe that they had probably put this prayer request on the shelf, along with many other seemingly unanswered prayer requests. They had simply learned to accept these things as the way things were going to be. Most likely the future parents of John the Baptist had petitioned the Lord with this repeated, desperate request as they began seeing the window closing to the possibility. Surely, by this time, the “old man” had given up on that hope. What the angel was declaring just couldn’t be true. But how many of you know that the Bible is full of what seemed to be true events, trumped by even greater, truer events? In the beginning God released light, yet in the midst of His light being released there were lesser lights: the Sun, the moon, and stars. Jesus said in Jn. 8:32 And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. Jesus spoke this to Jews who had a revelation of the Truth (truth) in the Law, and the Prophets. Yet, as this was spoken, the Truth, the Greatest of ALL truths, stood before them declaring these things. What are we to make of this? Often we define truth by our perceptions of reality failing to enter into the Light of Truth, Jesus. Our circumstances may seem to be true – but there is a Greater Truth whose Name is Jesus. Now He is not an opera singer but He is a singer nonetheless, and He sings His song in a place of timelessness. What’s truly amazing is He sings His song over you and me. Rabbi’s believe God didn’t simply speak creation into existence, He sung it into existence. Possibly in Zacharias, and Elizabeth’s life the song hadn’t been finished and that’s why the manifestation of a prayer answered hadn’t come to their attention. What have you prayed about and given up on? Maybe it’s time for you to turn your ear to the song of the Singer, and listen for what He has to say. Luke 1:20 in the KJV reads: And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed…Maybe it’s time we confess to the Lord we have been dumb, and we need to learn to be still to know He is God; to listen and wait instead of speaking. Maybe it’s time that we take our place as a new creation and join in the song of the Singer. Chris Tomlin wrote a song by that name: Sing, Sing, Sing. The opening lyrics state: Sing, sing, sing and make music with the heavens. We will sing, sing, sing grateful that You hear us when we shout Your praise lift high the name of Jesus!

Confession & Declaration 29

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Zephaniah 3:14-17 Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice, be in high spirits and glory with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem [in that day].15 [For then it will be that] the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in the midst of you; [and after He has come to you] you shall not experience or fear evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion. Let not your hands sink down or be slow and listless. 17 The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

Why on earth is Jesus singing and exulting over Israel? And why is He making such a spectacle of Himself in rejoicing and exulting? For rejoicing means that He is being joyful, and bright with great gladness, and to exult is even more undignified than this. For it means to dance, leap for joy, and spin around. What’s even more startling is that we are grafted into these words to Israel. Thus the promise of Jesus being undignified among us is equally true. But why? Why is He singing, rejoicing, and dancing over us? What’s the point and why the celebration?

Well there are several things that are listed in the passage above: the Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in the midst of you; [and after He has come to you] you shall not experience or fear evil any more.

WE see reason for rejoicing and celebration in four ways. (1) The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. We know from these declarations that through Jesus’ Blood He has most assuredly taken away our judgments and done imaginably more than that. (2) Another reason to party is that He has cast out our enemy. A party which drives satan himself, away. (3) Thirdly, Jesus has walked into our midst as Immanuel – God With Us! His Omnipresence is always with us and He promises to manifest His Presence. That’s powerful. But Guess what else He has done? (4) When He walked into our hearts, Love entered. When Love entered – fear had to go. Fear has to go in the Presence of Perfect Love! Fear, anxiety, worry, and all it’s kin and kindred – they have to go!

Yet there is another powerful reason that Jesus is singing over us. That’s how He awakened the dawning of creation. He sang it into existence. Now that’s my personal opinion, but I’m sure in the farthest reaches of the studies I’ve done that I could actually make a compelling point for this from Scripture – our Source of All Authority! But I digress. Let us simply make the argument from Moses to the prophets, to modern day rabbis. That in their tradition there is the practice of singing the Word of the Lord. Modern day synagogues would call these rabbis – or cantors. What’s even more interesting is that the people would participate by singing it back to them. Thus Jesus is singing over us, awakening us, by His Prophetic Word. That’s powerful. He is awakening in us the new creation that we are called to be. Pause and think about that.

But there is one more thing. A thing that is as mysterious and old as the Ancient of Days. In Ezek. 28:13 is a prophecy about satans’ origins: Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

This passage goes on to explain that before the fall, or rebellion of satan, that he was a cherubim who led the worship of Heaven. That his body was an instrument in and of itself. He literally sang, and played melodies with the musical instruments built into his body. (Talk about a one man band.) When satan fell he took that aspect of worship with him leaving an empty place. Now that sounds sad but God can never be outdone and always has a plan. Guess who God had waiting in the wings to take his place? You and I. You are His song. That’s one of the reasons we praise Him. That’s why our songs, dance, and expressions of delight are so important to Him. He is singing and dancing to awaken the song and the dance of delight in us. Why? He wants us to join Him in both. That makes me smile, laugh and cry all at the same time. What an awesome God we serve.

Thus we overcome the judgments, fear, emptiness, and our enemy through singing, rejoicing, and dancing. We become the worship leaders of Heaven. How about that? Jesus invites us to join Him in the celebration. Now do you see what’s missing in the modern church? We’re droning on singing songs of worship as funeral dirges – while our Savior is celebrating with singing, dancing, spinning, laughing, and joying – in you. He joys in you.

So, how can you sit there? Are you going to dance with Your Savior and joy in Him – or not?

Declaration 29: Hallelujah Praise Your Name my Precious Jesus! I lift my songs of praise to You! I glorify, and magnify You with all that I am. You have sung me to life. You are my Song, and my Reason to dance. My heart leaps before You and rejoices. Hallelujah You have driven out satan – my enemy and Yours. You have beat back the judgments I was due. You have conquered my fears overthrowing them with Your Perfect Love. Oh how I love You Jesus! Oh, how I worship you with the angels and saints gone before me. Oh, how I twirl, dance, and spin about You with the planets, moons and stars. I lift my voice in praise to the only One due the praise joining my voice with all creation. You have overcome and I have overcome through Your Song; through Your Dance! Sing louder Lord Jesus. Dance faster, Catch us up in the song and whirling love of Your Presence. Grace to my brothers and sisters in Jesus to join You. Grace for me to rise up, shake off my self centered self, and celebrate You. Grace to sing like nobody is around. Grace to dance with furious, and passionate love. Grace to let go. Thank You Almighty God. Sing Your Words over me. Sing over me, and these – in Jesus Name!

Who’s Your One? Day 26 – Friday, February 7