Mary: A Call to Provide
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Each week leading up to Christmas we are looking at Calls given by God through angels.
What is a call? We are not talking about a call, like you receive a call on the phone. No, this is a call, like a call to action. It is an invitation to join in, a direction given. It is given to motivate, spur on, give a task. A call is not something to passively receive, but to actively engage.
Last week: God sent an angel to Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest who was at that time serving in the main city of Israel, Jerusalem. He was a priest, educated in the Word of God, who taught others to trust the promises of God.
Zechariah was offering prayers in the temple when the angel Gabriel appeared to him. Gabriel told him his prayers were heard! God was breaking His silence! God was about to fulfill His promises given so long ago! God was going to send the one prophesied to go before the Messiah! This is the one who would prepare the people for the Lord.
Not only did God hear Zechariah's prayers. Not only was God going to begin preparing His people for their Messiah. God was Calling Zechariah to be a part of that work. God was calling Zechariah to help prepare, as God was giving him a son who would be the one to go and prepare the way for the Lord!
Unfortunately, Zechariah did not believe when he heard the message. God was still going to do as he said, but now Zechariah wouldn't fully enjoy the blessing because he did not believe. He was not able to joyfully tell everyone how God was keeping His promises until the child was born. Oh, but once that child was born, Zechariah was able to speak again, and then he rejoiced and let everyone know God was preparing!
The call last week, was a call to prepare. That is what God was doing through Zechariah--through Zechariah's son, John the Baptist. When John grew up, he did prepare the people for the Lord. He called people to repent, and believe God's promises, that the Messiah was coming.
This Christmas season, we need to apply this to our own lives. We need to heed the call to prepare. We need to repent of whatever is coming between us and God, and to believe Him.
That was the first call sent by God through an angel. Today we are looking at the second Call given by God through the angel Gabriel. This time, the call wasn't to a high class citizen like a priest. It wasn't to someone who worked in the big city of Jerusalem. Instead, this call was to someone society would have not have even considered. A young girl from a small town of poor reputation. She was given a Call to Provide.
Please watch this dramatization.
Mary: A Call to Provide
Mary: A Call to Provide
Let's read this passage together and work through this Call to Provide.
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Greetings you who are 'highly favored'. 'Highly favored' is how they have translated a word that is literally 'one who is given grace.'
"Greetings, you who are highly favored!"
Literally,
"Greetings, one who is given grace!"
"Greetings, one who is given grace!"
That is, given an undeserved, highly valued gift. The angel was letting Mary know that God was giving her a great, undeserved gift! She did not have to earn it, or pay it back. It was a gift!
In the next couple verses, this is reemphasized:
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
You have found favor with God is just like what God said of Noah and others. 'They found grace in the eyes of the Lord!' God looked at them in an undeserved, favorable way. A gift from Him.
Wow! What would you think if someone said this to you? You have found grace in the eyes of the Lord! You don't deserve this, but God is looking favorably on you! God is giving you a special, undeserved gift!
What is really special about this to me, is that this word for God giving Mary grace is found only one other time in the Bible. It is in Ephesians 1:6.
to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Where this verse says 'freely given' is the same word that the angel said to Mary! Here, it is stating that God gives that same precious, undeserved gift--grace--to every one of us who believes in Jesus! Isn't that great!?! This Christmas season, if you start to feel down, read these verses in Luke and Ephesians, and contemplate how God looks on you with favor, just like He did to Mary!! God gives you and me the same undeserved precious gift of grace as He did to Mary! Wow!
Now what is the nature of this grace, this gift?
The Lord is with you
The Lord is with you
What better gift could there be than, the Lord is with you. For all that was coming, everything she was going to face, this is what she could hold onto.
This is the same promise God has given to all of His servants, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah, and the rest of the prophets. "I am with you." All that these saints of old went through, this is what gave them strength to lead nations, conquer enemies, boldly stand when facing opposition, endure all that came at them. This is the promise God gave to Mary!
And, the next part is just as exciting!
You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
The Lord is giving you a son, Jesus.
The Lord is giving you a son, Jesus.
This Son, Jesus was God's provision! God was providing the Messiah, the descendant of David that He had covenanted to provide centuries before!
Way back in the garden of Eden, God promised to provide One born of a woman who would defeat Satan and Sin!
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Later as a part of the Covenant with Abraham,
“I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
God promised to make Abraham into a nation, and to bless the whole world through him.
Still later, through David, a descendant of Abraham, God gave even further detail, stating that it would be one of David's descendants that would be God provision to lead this nation and bless the world.
Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”
Ever since God made that covenant with David--which was just an elaboration of the covenant God gave to Abraham that a nation, and kings would come through him--the people of Israel who remained faithful to God kept waiting and holding on in hope of God's provision.
Now, after all these years, God was going to provide! Now for God to provide a descendant of David, He needed a woman who would give birth to this special descendant. Mary would be a part of God's providing for the world! Mary would bear the child.
Well, Mary wondered how in the world this could be. She was still a virgin. She believed God, but how?
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
Wow, how could it be? God! I love that final declaration from Gabriel. "Nothing is impossible with God."
He told her how Elizabeth was even having a son in her old age, then told her about this.
This had to bring to mind Abraham and Sarah to Mary. These were the father and mother of the nation of Israel. They were old and beyond the point of having children. God had been promising to make a nation from Abraham's descendants. Abraham was 100, and Sarah was 90 when they finally had Isaac. A year before Isaac was born, God was talking with Abraham and told him is was finally time. They would finally have a son. Sarah laughed, because they were so old. And God said,
Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.”
Is anything too hard for the Lord? If God can make a barren woman who was well past age bear a son, could He not also give a son to a virgin? Nothing is impossible to God!
When Mary heard this, her faith was affirmed. She knew God would do this. God was going to provide the Messiah, the descendant of David who would reign on the everlasting throne, over the everlasting kingdom. She knew that God was going to provide, through her! She believed.
Isn't this just like God? He is going to do the work. He is going to do the heavy lifting. But He enjoys using His servants and allowing them the joy of being a part of what He does! Mary was going to be a part of providing the Messiah! What an honor! What a privilege! What a joy!
And thus, Mary responded:
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Mary answered the Call to Provide. She did not have to be the Provider. God was the Provider. She was called to be a willing servant, through whom God would Provide.
What a great example for us, today!
Us? Today?
What about me?
What about me?
Mary is absolutely a great hero of the faith. Sometimes non-Catholics can shy away from Mary. Though we do not agree with the doctrine of sinless perfection defined by Pope Pious IX in 1854, we do not have to be afraid of admitting how great a servant of God Mary was.
The Lord calls me highly favored!
The Lord calls me highly favored!
She was given great grace! Not sinless and deserving, but like you and me, needing a savior! And she received great grace! And as we saw earlier, God uses the exact same term for every believer in Ephesians 1:6. God has given you and me great GRACE! Just like Mary!
God looked with grace on Mary. In the same way, God looks at you and me with Grace!
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
The phrase find grace is the exact phrase used of Mary finding favor with God. Favor/Grace. We find it just like Mary did! From God, who sits on the throne of Grace! We find the exact same Grace as Mary!
Do you feel like you need Grace? God gives you great Grace, just like Mary!
The Lord is with me!
The Lord is with me!
Just like God promised to be with Mary, Jesus promised to be with us, and to never leave us. Just like the power of the Most High overshadowed Mary, Jesus said He would send the Spirit upon us! He said that He and the Father would make their abode in us! John 14:23.
The Lord wants to provide through me!
The Lord wants to provide through me!
God wanted to provide salvation for the world through Mary. He wanted Mary to be a part of that work, and now He wants you and me to be a part of that work! We do not have to bear a son, we just have to bear witness! We are God's ambassadors!
Notice how all of this is the Lord at work?
The only question is, how will you respond?
He gives you and me great grace, just like Mary.
We find favor in His eyes, just like Mary.
He wants to provide for others through us, just like Mary.
And, remember, nothing is impossible with God! If He can make a virgin give birth, He can use you and me!
So, will we respond just like Mary?
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Will you say, I am your servant?
What is God Calling you to be and do this week? If you do not know, Ask and it shall be given to you!
Then, respond, "I am the Lord's servant." And, watch what He will do through you!
Prayer
Homework
Luke 1:28 - One who is given grace. Ephesians 1:6. Luke 1:30 - Found grace with God
Luke 1:30 - Do not be afraid. You have found grace with God.
Luke 1:31-33 - Jesus the fulfillment of the covenants
Luke 1:37; Gen 18:14; Jer 32:17; Matt 19:26. Nothing is impossible with God.
Luke 1:38 - I am the Lord's servant.