The Crossroads of Simplicity and Sacrifice
Notes
Transcript
Good morning Allons Baptist Church!!!
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Biblical Reference: Luke 1:26-56
I want to share a story with you to get us started this morning.
We have had some sickness in our home, just like most of everyone else has. At one point, we had to take one of the kids down here to fast pace, but Walgreens did not have the medicine ready when we got out, so we decided we would go back later and pick it up.
Keshia took Landry and Leighton with her to pick up the medicine. Now I am sitting in my office back here at the church and I am studying.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Landry busts through the door with the awfulest amount of excitement that you have ever seen and says, “Dad, we got a big problem. You will never believe what just happened at Walgreens.”
Now mind is racing a hundred miles an hour:
Did the place get robbed?
Did you break something in the store that costs hundreds of dollars?
Did Keshia hit someone’s car in the parking lot?
Nothing......I mean nothing could have prepared me for what he said: “Some dude just tried to pick mom up and get her number.”
So later on, I got done studying and went home. I had to throw out a jab or two when I walked in, so I said, “Hey, I’m home. Mama hasn’t run off with that guy yet has she?”
So then the kids get all excited again telling the story, and finally one of them says, “Dad, what would you have done if some girl tried to pick you up like that?”
Guys, I have never thought about it, and quite frankly, I just don’t think that is something I will ever have to worry about. Have you looked at me? Nobody ever tried to pick me up at Walgreens before....
You know…Some people are blessed with some things and some people are blessed with other things. I definitely married up!!! I have even had a few people, that’s right…not just once, ask me how old my daughter was, and they were talking about Keshia....They think she is my daughter.
Then it got even better. One of the kids spoke up and said, “Dad, what would you say if you were trying to pick up another girl? You know, what would be your pick up line?”
“I said. I have no idea. I haven’t had to pick up a girl in a long time. I wouldn’t even know where to start. It actually hurts my brain to think that I would ever have to worry about that again.”
But they would not let it go. They were like, “Come on dad. You got to step up your game. Surely you got at least one good pick up line that you could use.”
So I look over at Keshia and I say, “Girl, you’re so fine you remind me of the 21 letters of the alphabet.”
When I said that, you could have heard a pin drop. They are all looking at me like....really, that’s the best you got? It doesn’t even make sense. Keshia is looking at me with embarrassment in her eyes, like she was ashamed of me.
Keshia finally puts her hand on my shoulder and says, “Poor thing. I hope nothing ever happens to me.”
Then one of the kids said, “Dad....seriously? Do you really not know that there are 26 letters in the alphabet?”
I said, “Oh yeah. That’s right! I forgot the U, R, A, Q, T!!!!
And then I got a kiss!!!!
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!”
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.
31 And 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.
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.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Context
Context
I know the story I shared with you is just a funny story, but as I was studying for this message I got to thinking.
We all like the idea of being blessed, but being blessed comes with great sacrifice. I know it is a bad example, but when one is blessed with beauty, it means they must consider that all the attention they get may not be genuine.
When we talk about Christianity, we usually attempt to paint a pretty good picture of it. When doing that, we usually hone in on the fact that it is absolutely amazing to have an assurance of our eternal home. And let me just say that we should do that. It is amazing to have that assurance. That assurance of salvation is the driving force behind everything we do.
But I wonder how often we discuss the reality of sacrifice when speaking of our relationship to God.
See with great blessing comes great sacrifice.
This is not a word we throw around too often any more. The early church was all too familiar with it. To have God’s hand on your life during that time, meant that you also had the world’s hand upon you. To be a child of God during Bible times was to have a cross hair painted on your back. If you loved Jesus you would be hated by those who didn’t.
We are slowly getting back to that reality here in America today, but for far too long we have had it easy. Since the founding of our nation, being a Christian come at very little cost in terms of the world. It is almost as if Satan realized that all of his persecution against the Church did nothing but cause it to expand. So then he stepped back and said, “OK. We will just let them have it east for a while and see what happens.”
The result is that the Church, inadvertently has slipped into this “easy-believism” way of life. It did not happen on purpose, but without the trying of our faith, the church has seemed to lose sight of the great price that many have paid to be faithful unto God. We have lost sight of the cost of discipleship.
Now I do not think that we have lost sight of truth. I think the Gospel message is preached as truly and fully today as it ever has been. There are many amazing men of God who faithfully preach the truth of God’s Word week in and week out.
But I do think that we, as a whole, have lost a sense of what true Christianity looks like.....after salvation, in terms of devotion, sacrifice, dedication, and meaningful pursuit of an Almighty God who loves us unconditionally! Our faith has been one of simplicity.
I must admit to you that I myself was lost to this for many years. It wasn’t until I had been preaching for several years that I began to realize how shallow my idea of Christianity really was. My pursuit of God simply was not anywhere close to what it should have been. Though I have been attempting to change that in my own life, I can still honestly say that I am a work in progress. I think most of us are.
To piggy back off of what we discussed last week, we are entering a time now like we have never witnessed before. We are entering a time where it is not favorable to be a Christian anymore. If you choose to stand with God, you are also choosing to stand against the systems of the world and the evil they produce.
I truly believe in these last days, that God is going to call on several people to stand in the gap. As the tension between the Church and the systems of the world increases, I believe God is going to raise up those who are willing to serve, regardless of the cost.
With that being said, that leaves us at a crossroads. We are standing at a crossroads of simplicity and sacrifice. The question is, “Which path are we going to choose?”
Content
Content
Mary’s Blessing
Mary’s Blessing
As I read through this text, I couldn’t help but notice the amount of times that Mary is referred to as “blessed”.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
To be used of God is a tremendous blessing. Those who have experienced the hand of God upon their lives can attest to that fact. There is nothing else that can compare with the realization that God chose you for a particular task. It is absolutely amazing.
I want to take a moment to see just how blessed she was:
She was highly favored
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
The Bible simply does not tell us how she became favored or why she was viewed in the eyes of God as being favored, but it does tell us she was favored nonetheless.
Something about Mary’s life stuck out to God. Whatever it was, it brought Mary into a position that she could be used of God.
The Lord was with her
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Not only was she favored by God, but she also had the presence of God with her. What a blessing that is. To know that the very God of creation, who has unlimited power, wisdom, and ability, is with me wherever I go, is to be at complete peace. What in life can rival that?
Nothing can stand against God. Nothing can rival a force such as Him.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
She was blessed among women
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Because she was favored and because the Lord was with her, she would also be considered blessed among women.
Mary had been hand picked by God to have a virgin birth. It was going to be a baby boy and she was to call his name Jesus. He would be great and would be called the Son of the Highest. The Lord was going to give Him the throne of David and He would reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom would have no end.
Why was she considered blessed among women? Because she was chosen by God to bring the prophesied Messiah into the world. She would bare Him, birth Him, nurse Him, and raise Him.
Not only the knowledge of what would happen was a blessing, but also the knowledge of how it would happen.
Instead of this baby coming by natural means, it would be miraculously conceived within her through the Holy Spirit. Then the power of God was to oversee her during this time.
This is extremely important. These tremendous blessings upon her life were to amazing to fathom, but with them came hardship as well. She would need the hand of God to overshadow her during this time. Her very life would depend upon it.
Mary’s Brokenness
Mary’s Brokenness
Because of these Godly blessings upon her life, Mary had been put into a very difficult position, in more ways than one.
The Mental Struggle
The Mental Struggle
Try to imagine for just a moment what it must have been like to be in her shoes. She knew the truth and nothing could take that away from her. Regardless of what anyone said, she knew that she was faithful and that God had miraculously conceived this child within her, but she also knew that no one would ever believe a word of it.
What a struggle. She faced the same tantalizing mob that we do today. All it takes is one ill word spoken, one rumor, one lie, one question of ill intent, and the word is out.
Furthermore, this is not one of those secrets that you can keep quite forever. At some point, people are going to notice. When her belly begins to grow, people are going to take notice of the situation.
Also think about where she is from. She is from Nazareth. What was the mentality of that day concerning Nazareth? Do you remember when Nathanael asked Phillip, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Nazareth was a lowly place. It was not a place of prominence. It was a place where common people lived, who had common jobs, who had normal lives, and who were mostly middle to lower class financially.
Who would believe that this commonplace woman, who was nothing special in the eyes of men, could have possibly been chosen of God to bring the Messiah into the world? Nobody would believe that.
The Marital Struggle
The Marital Struggle
Mary was engaged to Joseph. They truly loved one another, but let me ask all the men a question real quick. If you were engaged to a woman and both of you had agreed to remain celibate until marriage, because of the sanctity of that consummation as well your faithfulness to God, and then she ended up getting pregnant but told you that she had been faithful and promised that she had not cheated on you, would you believe her?
What if she even told you with a complete brokenness in her spirit, and even shared with you this amazing testimony of how Gabriel, the messenger angel of the Lord, had visited with her and proclaimed that God was finally bringing to pass what He had promised so many years ago. The Messiah was coming and she had been chosen by God to bear Him, to birth Him, to raise Him, and even prepare Him for ministry? This child was conceived of God. Would you believe her then?
Just think for a moment how this sounds. Think of how quickly this conversation spirals out of control. In Joseph’s mind, not only has Mary cheated on me with another man, but she blasphemes the name of God by saying that she is carrying His child. What? Is this even the same woman that I thought I knew? What in the world has happened to her? I don’t know what it is, but I know that I am out...
This account here in Luke focuses primarily on Mary, but if we bring in the account of Matthew, we see it from Joseph’s perspective.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
I think Mary tried to talk to Joseph about what was going on and they had a fight. Just like any of us would have done. He couldn’t believe that she would do such a thing and she couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t believe her.
Did you notice earlier what vs. 56 said?
56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
Now Elizabeth was already 6 months into her pregnancy when Mary went unto her. Mary stayed about 3 months with her before returning. This means Mary probably hung around until after John was born. She snuggled him tight for a few days and then came back home.
But....she was there for 3 months. I know certain jobs require people to stay gone for months, or even years, at a time, but staying away from your fiance for 3 months is quite a stretch. Why do you think she stayed there for 3 months? I think it was because she had a huge fight with her fiance and needed to be with some people that understood her.
Gabriel specifically mentioned Elizabeth in his explanation earlier to Mary, so Mary knew that Elizabeth’s child was from God as well. This entire situation was a God thing. Mary was broken, scared, confused, and now lonely. She stayed for about 3 months and then she came back home.
Not only was a mental struggle, and a marital struggle. It was also a
The Mosaic Struggle
The Mosaic Struggle
According to the law of Moses, anyone caught in the act of adultery was to be stoned to death. That included those who were already married and those who were engaged to be married.
22 “If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.
23 “If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her,
24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
Let me just point one thing out real quick on this topic. Mary had done nothing wrong here, but everyone would have assumed that she did.
The ones who were responsible for hearing out a case such as this and then trying those involved, would have been the priests. The priests were bound by the law, or at least were supposed to be, so that no bias could be used. They must try each case honestly and according to the Law of God.
If Mary truly had something to hide, the home of a priest who was blameless before the Lord would be the last place she would want to go.
Mary was innocent and the fact that she went to Zacharias’s house without hesitation proves that.
If brought before the religious leaders, she would be tried and found guilty of adultery and blasphemy, both of which were worthy of death.
The Motherly Struggle
The Motherly Struggle
All of us in the room who are parents will perfectly understand what I am about to say.
As a parent, we cannot hardly bare hearing ill words spoken of our children. When we do, it almost always puts us in instant defense mode. Ain’t nobody gonna talk bad about my baby.
Could you imagine for a moment what it must have been like for Mary to raise Jesus, hearing all the talking, all the rumors, all the lies, all the snide comments, all the dirty names?
Can you imagine how much shear will she must have had to survive not only during the pregnancy, not only after the birth, but even after Jesus was grown and started His ministry.
So many people simply could not accept the truth, and therefore judged an innocent woman harshly her entire life.
Then this woman, 33 years after his birth, had to stand by and watch this same group of people who had spoken ugly of her her entire life, yell out, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Free Barabbas. Hang this traitor on the cross. Crucify Him!!”
She had to watch this angry mob bring judgment upon her precious baby Boy. She watched Him be beaten, mocked some more, have a crown of thorns forced upon His brow, nailed to a cross, and then hung as a spectacle for all to see. She shed her tears where he shed His blood.
This mother struggled more than most.
Commitment
Commitment
I feel some of you today are standing at that crossroads of simplicity and sacrifice. You feel an urge of God upon your life, but you are perfectly happy with the life you have now.
In full disclosure, not everyone will be called to make the same level of sacrifice that Mary had to make. There will never be another Jesus born. We only have one Savior. We only have one Lord.
But to follow God faithfully means there will be times of sacrifice. There will be times of hardship and struggle. There will be times when you don’t understand the big picture and must continue forward in faith, knowing that your heavenly Father above does see the big picture and He is in control.
Do you want to be blessed? Blessing comes with great sacrifice. Those sacrifices will be difficult, but they will be worth it. Are you sure you want to be blessed?
God’s blessings await all those who are willing to follow in His steps. His steps lead Him to Calvary. I don’t know where His steps will lead you in this life, but I can promise where they will lead you in eternity. For those who follow His steps faithfully, they will be lead straight to the throne of Almighty God.
Listen. If this message was for you, then you are standing at the crossroads of simplicity and sacrifice. Which path do you choose?