Highlights From Sunday: Believe in Christmas - Mary Believed

Luke 1:26-56 Believe in Christmas

Mary Believed

Introduction

Last week we were challenged by the Lord to worship Him with hopeful expectation. We asked ourselves: Do I worship the Lord expecting the radical transformation of my heart and life? Do I believe His promises in the Bible and make decisions based on it? Last week, Zechariah acted like many of us act: in a faith-lacking way. In today’s passage, Mary will exemplify faith, trusting in God regardless of the circumstances. Today’s primary question: Will I trust in God no matter the circumstances?
Let’s look at the circumstances of Mary’s life…

 :26-33 A Confusing Message

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Gabriel, God’s angel for the sharing of big events, is sent by God to an obscure town in Galilee named Nazareth. God sends Gabriel to a woman named Mary. Mary is engaged to a man named Joseph. Engagement in this culture was a legally binding covenant that took place around the age of 13 for the girl. Around age 14 the girl was officially married and moved into the home of her new husband. Breaking off an engagement was equivalent to divorce. Mary’s fiancé, Joseph, was a distant relative of David (a great king of Israel). Mary is an unmarried virgin.

According to what I know about procreation, 2 things prohibit the natural conception of a baby:

1 – old age (Elizabeth)

2 – being a virgin (Mary)

Mary’s virginity is not of value in itself, it is mentioned, like Elizabeth’s infertility, in order to show God’s power and illustrate the miraculous nature of her pregnancy.

 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
Gabriel’s greeting is special: Hello, God is especially gracious to you (favored one) and about to do something powerful in your life (with you).
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
Mary’s sort of freaked out by this asking: “What in the world does this mean?”
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
Gabriel responds: Don’t be afraid, this is a good thing!
31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Gabriel announces his special message to Mary: You will become pregnant and you will name him Jesus: a common name from Heb: Joshua meaning “savior”

Jesus’ life will be characterized by 3 things:

1. Very important, of great status.
2. Jesus will be the long-awaited Messiah (Savior) of Israel
3. Jesus will be the King of Israel forever.

The things communicated by Gabriel to Mary would have been clear: You are going to have a baby, He will be the Savior for which everyone is waiting.

Application

As believers, God has been especially gracious to us and is doing something dynamic and powerful in our lives. He sent Jesus to come and die for our sins and thus provides a way for us to be forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God. (That’s gracious!) Once we turn from our sins and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we receive God’s Holy Spirit within us. He transforms us into a completely new person and continues to transform us for the rest of our lives. (That’s dynamic and powerful).

WE CAN TRUST HIM WITH OUR LIVES…Do You?

Sometimes, it’s hard to imagine the things God can do…

:34-38 Nothing is Impossible for God

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

Mary asks Gabriel the obvious question: “How will this happen?” Notice the difference between her response: How will God do this?, and Zechariah’s response when Gabriel appeared to him and foretold Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist: “That’s impossible!” Mary affirms God’s plans but doesn’t understand how they will come to be.

35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
This conception will occur by the power of the Holy Spirit. He won’t have a normal father but will be miraculously conceived by God.

Let me just pause for a moment and clarify one thing. God did not father Jesus the same way men father infants. We should think of this as a creative miracle. God created Jesus in Mary through miraculous means similar to the way He created the world and everything in it. Only Jesus really was God and He already existed spiritually as the Word. Jesus will be God and man. He will be the first and only half-person ever! God in the flesh! Jesus’ identity as God and man fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy (7&9) about the Messiah, which Matthew verifies in Matt 1:22-23:

22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

What a beautiful expression of God’s love for us. To become one of us to save us. The fact that Jesus is God was essential to His ability to be a sacrifice for the world’s sins.

Next, Gabriel establishes a connection between John and Jesus…

 36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Gabriel tells Mary about Elizabeth’s pregnancy: God is up to something! What many believe to be impossible is possible with God.
38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Gabriel presents Mary with the evidence. Now she has to choose how to respond. Believe or not. Can God do this or not? She responds: whatever God says, I will do. I believe it!

Application

Mary’s interaction with Gabriel shows us how to respond to God. God tells us His willàwe believe itàwe do it. What is God desiring from your life right now? Does it seem impossible? It isn’t!

Nothing’s impossible for God! God desires for you to know Him in a personal way and walk with you through life. You might be thinking: I am way too messed up to walk with God. That’s not true! No one is too messed up to walk with God. Don’t let your past influence your relationship with God in the future. You might be thinking: He is asking me to do impossible things. Nothing God asks you to do is impossible! Is He calling you to serve the church in a special way…do it! Is He asking you to stop doing something that’s no good for your life? Stop it! It’s ok to be scared! Trust Him in the midst of your fear.

:37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Two men who will change the world meet, en utero.

 :39-45 Believers are Blessed

39 Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44 “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

It seems sort of appropriate that Mary would go visit Elizabeth, right? The nature of their pregnancies is spiritually and eternally connected. Mary greets Elizabeth and John, who is already filled with the Holy Spirit, responds to the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb. In that moment, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and she celebrates Mary’s pregnancy saying some Spirit-inspired things:

Mary is blessed à God chose her to mother the Messiah, Jesus

Jesus is blessed à He’s Jesus, the Messiah!

Elizabeth is blessed because she is able to see Mary and witness the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. Remember, Mary believed Gabriel’s message. No doubt, that pleased God and would help strengthen her faith for the difficult times ahead as she would be pregnant, without a husband, and no earthly father for her child.

Application

Did you know that when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior God’s Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us supernatural abilities called spiritual gifts? As believers, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit we are able to understand the Bible, do certain things for the building up of the church, identify our sins against God, and live with a special relationship with God. We are blessed! These blessings should strengthen our faith…Is your faith in the process of being strengthened or is it weak? If our faith is weak, we should re-focus our attention on God and rely on His Holy Spirit within us for direction. It’s impossible to be in the process of surrendering our lives to Jesus, reading the Bible, and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and have a weak faith.

Galatians 5:25 says:
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

So do it!

Mary responds to Elizabeth’s celebration with her own…

:46-56 Magnify the Lord

46 And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 “For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. 49 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name. 50 “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him. 51 “He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. 52 “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble. 53 “He has filled the hungry with good things; And sent away the rich empty-handed. 54 “He has given help to Israel His servant, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and his descendants forever.” 56 And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

Mary celebrates God’s fulfillment of his promises to Israel to send them a Savior. She recognizes the great blessing she has received from God in that she is the mother of the future King Jesus. She recognizes her unworthiness for such a gift and praises God for it. She recognizes Israel’s afflicted state as another nation, Rome, occupies and controls their homeland. One of the single most important things to reflect upon in this passage is the fact that Mary realizes her calling to mother Jesus is not about her, it’s about Him! Mary was the vessel used by God to bring the Messiah into the world and in every way just as needy for Him as you and I.

• Do we recognize and celebrate our great blessing in Jesus?
• Do we recognize and celebrate our unworthiness to receive Jesus?
• Do we recognize and celebrate our afflicted state without Jesus?
• Do we recognize and celebrate Him and not us?

Application

I want to take a moment and recognize something important that the women in our church need to hear.

The world’s definition of gender roles (or lack thereof) often pressures Christian women to believe that the biblical role of womanhood is archaic, offensive, oppressive, and demeaning to women.

This text describing Mary and Elizabeth’s response to God’s calling upon their lives reminds us of His plan to use women in mighty ways for His Kingdom.

A woman fulfilling her biblical role in the family and church is a powerful woman of faith indeed, and she is someone whom we should support, encourage, and equip to be used by God in amazing ways.

Women of Fifth Street, don’t let this world define your identity or your role.

Your identity is in Christ and the Bible defines your role.

God desires to use you in mighty ways!

 Conclusion 

• Do you believe in Christmas?
• Do you believe that God supernaturally blessed a virgin woman with a baby who was both God and man with the intentions of saving your soul and repurposing your life for something miraculous? Because that’s what Christmas is all about! God desires to use you in an amazing, dynamic way to change this world.
• Do you trust Him enough to do it?
• Are you ready to take a step of faith and to be used by God for something impossible?
• The first step in being used by God for impossible things is to have faith that nothing is impossible for God!
• Do you believe that?

If you believe that, then get to it!

Take a step of faith and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Real faith produces action.