God's Great News from the Story of Mary

Luke 1:26-38

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared November 23, 2022)

SCRIPTURE READING:

*Please open your Bibles to Luke 1:26. Did you ever wish you could go back to the first Christmas? Back to Bethlehem, back to the angels, the shepherds, and the baby Savior in the manger?

*Of course, we can't go back to Bethlehem. But we can go back to the best of Christmas! God wants us to experience the best things about Christmas, and today's Scripture can help us. Please think about this as we read Mary's story in Luke 1:26-38.

MESSAGE:

*It's amazing to me that over 2,000 years have gone by since the first Christmas. And we can't go back in time a second, but the true and living God wants us to have the best of that first Christmas. And God has great news for us from the story of Mary.

1. FIRST, GOD WANTS US TO GIVE US HIS GRACE.

*One of the best things about Christmas is the gift of God's grace. And we can see this first in vs. 26-28:

26. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27. to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

28. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!''

*Gabriel told Mary she was a "highly favored one," but Christians, so are we! I say this because the original word for "highly favored" here comes from the word we translate as God's grace. And this original word is only used one other time in the whole New Testament. That's in Ephesians 1:6 where it is translated as "accepted." So, listen for the word "accepted" in Ephesians 1:3-6

*There Paul was speaking to all Christians and said:

3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

4. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,

5. having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,

6. to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Christians: God's grace makes us "accepted in the beloved"! God's grace makes us "accepted," because we are literally and spiritually in His beloved Son Jesus Christ. Being accepted by God is indescribably good, and it puts us in the same company as the Lord's "highly favored" mother.

*But Ephesians 1:7 reminds us that it never could have happened without the cross of Jesus Christ. -- Because "in Him we have redemption THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ! Our forgiveness comes only through His blood, and that is the riches of His grace.

*But there is more grace for us in Mary's story. Verses 29-30 say:

29. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

30. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."

*When we read about Mary finding "favor with God," we might think that Mary had done something very special to earn God's favor. But she was probably only 14 or 15 years old. That's not a lot of time to do anything for the Lord. And this word "favor" is a little different from "highly favored," but it is still talking about God's grace. So, we could say, "Mary, you've found grace with God." This means you have found God's sweetness, loveliness, joy, and delight. You have found God's good will, and His merciful loving-kindness.

*Mary did no great deeds to earn the blessing of being the Lord's mother. Had she won any great battles? Did she have impressive degrees? Had she given away a lot of money? Did she find the cure for some dreaded disease? Was she a famous athlete at tennis, soccer, or golf? Was she a famous movie star or diva with millions of adoring fans? No, of course not.

*There was nothing Mary did to be born a woman. There was nothing she did to be born a descendant of King David, and that was essential for the mother of the Messiah. There was also nothing Mary did to be living in Nazareth. And that was crucial, because the prophets had said that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene. All of these essential qualifications came only by the grace of Almighty God.

*Now don't get me wrong. Mary was surely a godly and special woman. But just like us, she was a sinner who needed a Savior. And Mary found the gift of God's grace: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."

*This was a fairly common expression in the Old Testament. The first time we see it was when God decided to destroy the old world with a flood. But in Genesis 6:8, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."

*There was a wonderful word picture behind this Old Testament word for "favor" or "grace:" Someone who was superior stooping down in kindness to help, someone who was superior stooping down to have mercy on someone inferior. Think of a loving parent who stoops down to help a child in need.

*That is a picture of God's grace. And He wants you to have His grace. But how can we find God's grace? How did Mary find it? The same way that anybody can find it, -- the only way that anybody can find it, and that is through faith.

*Christians are saved by God's grace through faith in the Lord God. So, Mary had already been trusting in the Lord. Now she would have to trust Him much more, as He called on her to miraculously be the mother of the Messiah. And she did trust in the Lord. By faith, Mary found "grace" or "favor" with God, and so can you!

2. GOD WANTS TO GIVE US HIS GRACE. -- CHURCH: HE ALSO WANTS TO CALM OUR FEARS.

*Again in vs. 29-30, when Mary saw the angel Gabriel: "She was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.'"

*Mary was "troubled." That word means she was "greatly disturbed, agitated and alarmed." Mary was troubled when she saw that angel. She was probably scared to death. Who wouldn't be? If an angel appeared here this morning in all of his glory, I would be pretty shook-up, and you would be too!

*Mary was also troubled by the greeting Gabriel brought to her from God. But God had the answer for her anxiety, as Gabriel simply said, "Fear not." "Do not be afraid."

*Have you ever been troubled? Have you ever been afraid? Sure we have. And we live in fearful days. Sometimes it seems like the whole world is going crazy. And there are a whole lot of things that can trouble our hearts. Some people here today are struggling with sorrow. Some are troubled about their health or the health of their loved ones. Some are troubled over family problems, and some are troubled by their finances.

*But God wants to calm our fears. He has the answer for our anxieties. And it's the same encouraging message that God sent through Gabriel: "Fear not." "Do not be afraid."

*I once I heard Pastor Bruce Rux speak at a funeral about God calming our fears. Bruce reassured the family with a story from his days as a seminary student in Pittsburgh. One of his professors asked this question: "Which commandment from God is repeated most often in the Bible?"

*Those eager students tried hard to answer his question. Some thought it must have been "love the Lord with all your heart," or one of the Ten Commandments. They were all surprised when the teacher told them the most frequent commandment in God's Word is simply, "Fear not." "Do not be afraid!"

*I looked it up, and that commandment is found 71 times in God's Word.

*Life will seem scary at times, but Jesus wants to calm our fears. And when we do get afraid, we need to pray like David prayed in Psalm 56:3. There David told the Lord: "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You."

3. CHURCH: GOD WANTS TO CALM OUR FEARS. HE ALSO WANTS TO TEACH US ABOUT HIS KINGDOM.

*One of the best things about Christmas is getting to learn about God's kingdom. And there are some vital things to know in vs. 31-35. Here Gabriel told Mary:

31. "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.

32. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; 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 of His kingdom there will be no end."

34. Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"

35. And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."

*God wants to teach us about His kingdom, and we find a lot of Kingdom truth in the Christmas story. Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion about Christmas. Most people today do not understand the real meaning of Christmas.

*Pastor Rodney Buchanan told about a friend who gave a Bible to a man going through a difficult time in life. This man was in real need. His life had been marked by one disastrous decision after another, and he had no idea how much he needed the Lord.

*Rodney said, "As my friend gave a Bible to this person, and encouraged him to read it, he suggested that he might start by reading the Christmas story, since it was that time of year." The man looked at him with genuine surprise and said, "You mean the Christmas story is in the Bible?" (1)

*I know that sounds ridiculous to us. But this is the world we live in today. People desperately need to know the true meaning of Christmas. They desperately need to know about God's Kingdom. And in today's Scripture Gabriel revealed some of the greatest truths of all.

[1] IN VS. 31 WE LEARN THAT GOD WANTS TO SAVE OUR SOULS.

*We can see this truth in the King's name, because in vs. 31 Gabriel said this to Mary, "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus." Most of us know that this name, His name "Jesus," means "Jehovah is salvation." And Jesus Christ wants to save people's souls!

*1 Timothy 2:3-6 tells us that "God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself (He gave Himself on the cross) a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."

[2] JESUS CHRIST WANTS TO SAVE PEOPLE'S SOULS! NEXT IN VS. 32 WE LEARN THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF THE HIGHEST.

*In other words: Jesus is the only begotten Son of God! God became a man, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary, born in Bethlehem to die on the cross for our sins, and raised again from the dead to reign over an everlasting Kingdom.

*As we see in vs. 33: "He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Jesus has an everlasting Kingdom, and He wants everyone to know about it.

*Knowledge of His Kingdom is the most crucial knowledge we can ever receive. If we had 20 degrees from LSU, we would never learn anything more important than what we see right here. Jesus wants all of us to know about His Kingdom, so that we can be part of it.

*But the only way to really know about the Kingdom is to know the King! And you can know Him personally by opening your heart to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

4. GOD WANTS TO TEACH US ABOUT HIS KINGDOM. HE ALSO WANTS US TO BELIEVE IN HIS MIRACULOUS POWER.

*One of the best things about Christmas is seeing God's miraculous power. And we can see it in vs. 36-37, where Gabriel told Mary:

36. "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

37. For with God nothing will be impossible."

*Elizabeth was way too old to have a baby. She was called barren, because she was barren. The world had written her off. She had probably written herself off too. But nothing is too hard for God! He turned the impossible into the possible. And so Elizabeth became the mother of John the Baptist.

*God will not always give us a baby, but He will always do the right thing for us. All good things are possible with God! He works wonders every Christmas. And Christians get to see the Hand of God at work, even in miraculous ways.

*Author Squire Rushnell told about a late-40s couple who lived in McAllen, Texas, down on the border with Mexico. The story started with the diagnosis that David Espinoza would die within 3 years unless he had a heart transplant.

*In the spring of 2004, three cardiologists told David that his damaged heart was only working at ten percent capacity. David's wife Toni cried out to God to save her husband. But she had a terrible struggle with the fact that in order for David to live, -- somebody else would have to die. That's why Toni began to ask God for a miraculous healing.

*By early December both Toni and David were feeling a strange peace about it. But Toni wanted more assurance that God's miracle was on the way, so she prayed this very odd prayer: "Lord, I will know David's okay, if you make it snow on Christmas Day, in McAllen, Texas."

*Now in the middle of winter, "cold" weather in McAllen Texas is 70 degrees. And when Toni told several people close to her about her prayer, her friend Crawford Higgins gave this blunt reply: "Toni, if you're expecting it to snow here, where we've lived all our lives, and never seen snow. And specifically, on Christmas Day? -- You might as well start making the funeral arrangements."

*But Church: It did begin to snow that year, starting on Christmas Eve, around 11:30 that night. For the first time in recorded history, McAllen Texas had a white Christmas! It was their first measurable snow in 109 years.

*Three weeks later Toni and David drove back to Houston for tests at the DeBakey Institute. There, Dr. Guillermo Torre's jaw dropped in wonder at the report. "I can't explain this!" he said with surprise in his voice. "You're not sick anymore!" Praise the Lord! (2)

*Now, God doesn't always heal us like that, because this world is not our home. But we can be sure that every day He answers prayers in amazing ways, because all good things are possible with God.

5. GOD WANTS US TO BELIEVE IN HIS MIRACULOUS POWER. AND HE WANTS US TO BECOME HIS FAITHFUL SERVANTS.

*One of the best things about Christmas is the blessing of getting to serve the Lord. God wants every Christian to have a heart for service like Mary had in vs. 38. There she spoke to the Angel Gabriel and said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."

*Could Mary have said, "No"? I have to believe that she could have said, "No." I cannot conceive of God forcing someone to bear His child.

*Mary didn't have to say "yes," but she did say "yes" to God. Mary said "yes," even though her world was about to be turned upside down. Mary said "yes," and she was blessed. Mary said "yes," and the whole world was blessed.

*How will we answer God? The Lord had an extremely important assignment for Mary, but He also has important things for us to do. God has some things for us to do that maybe no one else can do. How will we answer God?

*Thank God Mary said, "Yes." "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." Mary submitted herself to be the servant of the Lord. She had the same kind of spirit we see in the heroes of our faith like Lottie Moon.

*Most of us have heard of Charlotte Moon, Lottie for short. Our Christmas Offering for International Missions is named after her. Lottie Moon was only 4 feet 3 inches tall! But she was a giant in serving the Lord.

*Born in 1840, Lottie grew up in an old Virginia family. Her dad's plantation house looked out on the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mom was a devout believer who read the Bible to Lottie. There was no church nearby, so Mrs. Moon held services every Sunday for family, neighbors, and servants.

*As a little girl, Lottie loved God's Word and missionary stories, but she did not receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. And as she got older, Lottie went through a time of rebellion. She liked to play tricks on people. One April Fool's Day, Lottie wrapped the college school bells so they wouldn't ring. Everyone was late to class that day, and Charlotte got in trouble for that one.

*Then in 1858, Lottie got saved at the age of 18. And it happened because some of her school friends invited Lottie to a revival meeting. And I cannot stress this too much: All of the good that has ever come through Lottie Moon, all of the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been given to missions, all of the hospitals built, people healed, people fed, and all of the thousands upon thousands of people who have been saved, all of this good for God's Kingdom has come in large part, simply because some concerned Christian college students invited Lottie Moon to church.

*Lottie Moon only went to that revival meeting because she wanted to be with her friends. And she went with a mocking attitude, but God got hold of her heart that day, and she decided right then that she wanted to become a Christian.

*Then, in the spring of 1873, Lottie heard a sermon on John 4:35, where Jesus asked His disciples: "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest?' Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" Right then, Lottie Moon made up her mind that she would become a missionary to China. And that fall she was on her way.

*When her ship was caught in a terrible storm and appeared to be sinking, she wrote: "As I watched the mad waste of waters, howling as if eager to engulf us, I think I should scarcely have been surprised to see a Divine Form walking upon them, -- so sweetly I heard in my inmost soul the consoling words, 'It is I, be not afraid.'"

*Lottie faithfully served the Lord in China for 40 years. She faithfully served the Lord through poverty, war, and plague. When Lottie was in her early 70s, a terrible famine struck China. She gave her food and her last dollar for famine relief. Lottie grew so weak and undernourished that her doctor ordered her home. She died on the way, -- Christmas Eve of 1912.

*Lottie once said, "I would that I had a thousand lives that I might give them to the women of China." She gave her one life, and millions have been blessed. (3)

*Now, you may think "I am way too old to serve the Lord." But as long as God gives us the strength, -- there are ways for us to serve God.

*One time someone interviewed Billy Graham. And he asked if Billy anticipated great rewards in heaven for the millions of lives touched through his world-wide ministry. Dr. Graham answered that he was not sure of the extent of his own rewards. But he was certain others would have greater rewards than he.

*Billy said that "somewhere in America today, a faithful elderly woman is on her knees praying for her little country church, her family, and her nation. For maybe 80 years, that sweet lady has been faithful to her Lord. She has prayed, read the Bible daily, and taught children in Sunday School."

*Billy said that lady and many like her will receive the greatest rewards in heaven. "You see," said Billy, "We are not called to be successful. We are called to be faithful." (4)

CONCLUSION:

*Christians: How will we answer God's call? How will we respond to God's assignment for our lives? May God help us to be more like Lottie Moon, more like the Virgin Mary. May God help us to be the blessing that He wants us to be for His Kingdom. May God help us to go back to the best of Christmas.

*We can get started right now, as we go back to God in prayer. And if you have never put your trust in the Lord, if you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, call on the Lord to save you now, as we bow for prayer.

(1) SermonCentral illustration contributed by: Rodney Buchanan

(2) When God Winks - Wink of the Week - The White Christmas Godwinks - http://www.whengodwinks.com/wow/wow_12232009.php

(3) Adapted from various sources below:

-"In Other Words" - Fall 1999, p. 11 - Topic Influence - produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry - www.iows.net

-Nelson Stories

-KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION - ID Number: 29393 - SOURCE: Http://www.wfu.edu/users/selpjw1/lottiemoon.htm - TITLE: The Life Of Charlotte (Lottie) Diggs Moon - AUTHOR: Courtney Denihan

-http://www.imb.org/main/give/page.asp?StoryID=5526&LanguageID=1709

-http://www.baptistheritage.org/StoriesforKids/TheStoryofLottieMoon/tabid/259/Default.aspx

(4) Thom S. Rainer, EATING THE ELEPHANT - Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994 - pp. 9-10