Don't Be Afraid Mary, God Will Calm Your Heart
The One Size Fits All Gift That Never Gets Returned • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 6 viewsThe courage accept God's will is always found in the Word of God.
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
A reminder don’t forget to invite people to Christmas Eve Service.
A reminder don’t forget to invite people to Christmas Eve Service.
Set a goal to invite 10 people.
The one size fits all gift that never gets returned
Don’t be afraid Mary, God will calm your heart.
Don’t be afraid Mary, God will calm your heart.
Please Stand for the reading of God’s Word
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”
But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.
Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus.
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.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.
Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?”
The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s slave,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
Explanation
Mary was afraid of Gabriel’s greeting
Is God’s will is troubling at times?
Example Disgrace Elizabeth & Mary
Suffering
Don’t be afraid, God will give you grace for his will
Illustration: The pain of motherhood is
compelled by the love for the child.
Application: For Mary, comfort came as a baby
For us comfort is the Holy Spirit
“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Transition
Mary was afraid of Gabriel’s greeting but she also had doubt in her self to do God’s will
Explanation
All of chapter 1 is a contrast
Gabriel visited Zachariah the high Priest
Luke 1:18
But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.
There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth.
For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb.
He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God.
And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.
“How can I know this?” Zechariah asked the angel. “For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.”
The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and tell you this good news.
Now listen! You will become silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”
Worth noting
Zechariah did agree to God’s will
He was given the green light w/o a word
What was the difference between Zechariah’s question and Mary’s question?
Zechariah questioned God’s ability to do it
Mary questioned her own ability to dot it.
The word “favor” that had troubled her then now brought peace to her.
That word favor in Greek is Charis = Grace God’s riches at Christ’s expense
What changed?
Mary realized God would work with her to do the impossible through her, she was not asked to do
the impossible alone for God.
The Spirit of God will do His part.
Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus.
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.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.
Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?”
The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless.
God would see to it that Jesus....
Would be great, and have the thrown of David
He will forever reign over the house of Jacob with no end in sight
not by Mary’s doing but by the power of the Most High God.
Look at it play out in the verses below.
In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah
where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
What Gab may have also said…
“Hey Mary, can you name him Jesus?”
“Hey Mary, could you be sure to feed Him?”
“Mary, try not to misplace him, ok?”
Mary’s part was to raise Him like any other mother is asked to by God.
Her response
“I am the Lord’s slave,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
That is an offensive word. Translation please?
(Beer from fermented drink)
Greek word means… slave.
It means a servant of the Most High. Unlike forced slavery we think of today, God was not forcing Mary to become a slave.
Mary entered into the relationship by choosing to place her life in submission to God because she trusted His lead.
Application
We are not being asked to bear God’s son.
But we are asked to bear witness of the Son of God
The Great Commandment and Great Commission
Let’s be real for a second...
It’s “troubling” to think about engaging in Gospel talks with people knowing the goal is to get them to
Repent: walk away from a life of wrong choices Submit to a new set of values, and worldviews, Worship God for the rest of their lives.
But you have received favor! It is not you but God who works the impossible.
We just need to acknowledge
Like Mary, we are recipients of grace
God’s spirit will do all the impossible stuff
Our part is
Know the Word,
Be led by the spirit
Focus our lives on the person of Jesus
Closing:
God is searching for favored people willing to let God have their whole lives. Raising a child is not a part-time job neither is the call to follow Christ.
As a church, God wants to fill this room with “impossible” testimonies made possible through us.
Addictions overcome
Marriages healed
Generational sins abolished.
The lost find hope
sick made well
In order for that to happen we must
Know the Word God has given us
Submit our lives to Him
Accept that God wants to do “impossible” things
If the thought of God calling you to serve him scares you.
It may be because you are assuming he’s asking you to do the work yourself.
He’s not interested in you going it alone, God wants to fill you with His presence and do impossible things,
but you have to give Him access of your whole life in order to be used in impossible ways.
What is God wanting to do in your life if you let Him?
You probably already know it.
You have probably already heard God tell you.
Like Zechariah, if you refuse to believe God it may result in silence.
You stop talking to God or You cant hear from Him anymore.
He’s going to make decisions that require your trust.
Yes the choices may bring disgrace by the world standards but he is always a big picture God.
It will result in impossible things for good being done through you.
Where is God calling you to trust him deeper?
New Year’s resolution: We don’t need to wait until then to get right with Jesus today.
If you are tired of doing work “for God” as you see possible and you’re ready to trust God do the impossible through you,
I’m going to ask you to come forward for prayer
It doesn’t matter if your the high priest or a scared teenager
God is calling you to a life in full surrender so that He can do a mighty work through you.
If you are ready for that, come for and join me in prayer
(ask the elders to pray)
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,”
