December 4, 2016

We are beginning a new sermon series this morning on Mary's story from Luke and I'm going to be preaching in a style that's a little different than my normal style. I talked for a walk through the bible ministries for years and they do a straightforward walkthrough verse-by-verse type teaching and that's what I'm going to do this month then and going to use some of their material just to kind of walk us through the life of Mary from Luke but then we will draw some of her own conclusions. I in terms of application to our own lives and if it doesn't go well this morning this shift in style. Let me know if you love it. Let me know and we will we will adjust accordingly as we go along but I just want to take us through this passage Luke 21 chapter 1 verses 26 through 38 Lux words on the life of Mary. Luke was a gentile he was a non-jewish physician who traveled with the early church leader Paul and wrote Luke and acts as a historical record of the life of Jesus and the early church. More than any of the other four gospels Luke's gospel is designed to be a historical account because of his status as a position because of his desire as a gentile to record the record of Jesus and the early church for the wider world. And so he took great measures to say here's the story historically that matches other biographies and historical accounts during that time and it's style and so beginning in chapter 26 verse 1 he talks about Mary. He says in the sixth month of Elizabeth pregnancy. God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth a town in Galilee. To a virgin pledge to be married to a man named Joseph a descendant of David The Virgins name was Mary so you can see that styling is riding that he's wanting to get fax out right away. Here's the time when it happened. Here's the people that are involved and here's what happened at angel came to this young virgin named Mary. Spell notice when you look a little bit in the historical reality This Time Mary was most likely a teenager in that culture. She she could have been pledged to be married as young as twelve. But most average was from 13 to round 18 or 19 was when a young woman would be pledged to be married a young Jewish man would have been pledged to marry between 18 and 20 most often. This was younger than most of the culture of the Greek culture young men would have married until their late twenties, but for the Jewish culture, it was younger and so she was likely a teenager and she was pledged to be married married to Joseph and when you think about the word pleasure you look at it historically at this time. It was very binding. It was not like an engagement today. It is not the same thing. It was very binding hit maybe lasted a year-long during this year. The couple that was pledged to be married were chaperoned. They were not alone. The marriage was really seen as beginning on the wedding night when it was consummated. That was the beginning of the wedding. But this place often involve the financial agreements between the families. It was a serious commitment that they joined in together and it only ended through what we would think of as divorce in today's culture or death of one of the two so she was pledged to be married to Joseph. This was a done deal. This wasn't a maybe this wasn't an engagement that you could just have a bad day or an argument and say well it's off it wasn't that sort of thing. It was much closer to what we think of as marriage is just a wedding night had not come they were waiting chaperone during that first year to have the celebration and the wedding night itself. Luke continues. The angel went to her and said greetings you who are highly favored the Lord is with you. Spell highly favored would have seemed strange to marry because she would have been considered her. She would have considered herself this way and the culture around her would have considered her of low social status. And so it would have felt very hard for this Angelic being this Angel to appear and say you are highly favored. That's the kind of thing. You expect the pope to experience. You know, someone has a vision for Billy Graham where an angel appears and says you the man you look like to see that was Billy Graham where the pope maybe but I don't expect it. You know what happened to a mechanic underneath this car out in the middle of nowhere in a small town or a teenage girl who's not even married yet. Just starting her like this Angel appears and says you are highly favored in the word favored in the original language. There isn't like our word favorite where it's kind of like we are God's favorite, you know, you are like children say to each other in a family. You know, I'm mom's favorite. I'm dad's favorite is really the word that Grace comes from it. So the angel is saying, you know God is with you and he's going to show you. great grace He is bestowing upon you tremendous Grace the passage continues. Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. So as I said this would have been extremely unusual for this young Jewish teenage girls have had this encounter and be declared highly favored by this Angel. The angel said to hurt do not be afraid Mary you have found favor with God. So think about what happens in in those two versus Mary was greatly troubled. Luke goes out of his way to add that as it if they're so she's not just startled or troubled she's greatly distressed, but she's also full of wonder at the same time. It's an amazing moment when I'm terrified, but it is an angel. So I'm also kind of drawn in and then throw out and they do not saying I'm here to cast judgment on you the kind of things that we might sometimes in our human thinking you don't get off track and what God is like laying on I met for lunch one day this week and she ordered for me. I arrived a few minutes late and she was already biting into her burger at Five Guys. And I said did you pray and she had a mouthful of food you said and I said what, you know, of course the Lord's going to cost you to choke on that buy the food. And so then I pray Lord we know you are eventually spiteful. God made this little joke and then we pray for real. Thank you for this food in this day. But sometimes we can get off the path of what God is really like and have these kind of false ideas. And so she could have been full of fear and she was but the same time she was drawn in by this one because it was an angel and the engine wasn't there to say. Hi. I'm here to condemn you and you're the first human is going to get wiped off the face of yours cuz we know what God is like Instead This angel said don't be Frayed and so the angel repeats a second time you have found favor with God so you can see where she's full of this conflict where she's terrified because it is an angel that has appeared to her. But at the same time the angel and said don't be afraid. You have found favor Grace with God and so she's full of fear. But also full of wonder at the same time in this passage the angel continues you will conceive and give birth to a son and you are to call him 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 Jacobs descendants forever his kingdom will never end. Now think about all the things that the angel unpacked in those verses to hurry said look you're going to give birth to a son. You'll be named Jesus. He will be great. You'll be called the son of the most high he will be given David's throne and he will reign forever. So if it was not enough that an angel has appeared to her that's enough to make you lose your breakfast and not know what's going on that day. And so she's full of fear. But also intrigued is the angel said don't be afraid you have found great favor with God and so she can relax. It's just a little bit cuz she's terrified by this moment, but also intrigued and went to relax as the angel continues don't be afraid. So you found favor of God hears. What's up? You're going to have a son. And he's going to be named Jesus and he's going to be great and is going to be the son of the most high and is going to take over David's throne and is going to rain forever now, she wasn't already bewildered and stunned to have all of this news delivered to her would make her head even spend more. How will this be Mary asked the angel since I am a virgin? Great question. Perfect question logical question think about everything the angel has unloaded her. She immediately says okay. I know and I may not know everything you're blowing me out of the water hear everything you're saying, but I know that women don't have babies who have not slept with men. I know that if I'm a virgin I'm not going to be pregnant. You'll one heading in an African Bible that I was studying this week looking at this passage from different Bibles and study Bibles the heading for this section was the pregnant virgin. And I thought well, that's a great that's a great heading for the section because Mary and Millie says, you know, look, I don't know everything but I know that women who are virgins who have not slept with anyone they don't they don't get up early and have a baby. That's not the way it works. And so she's not asking in disbelief. Like she doesn't believe the angel she's asking think how is this going to happen? How is this possible since I'm a virgin it's a question of confusion not unbelief and that's communicated in the original language. She's not saying this isn't possible she sang. How is this going to happen? I believe you but how you going to pull that off you going to swing that and so the angel continues to talk to her the angel answer the holy spirit will come on you and the power of the most high will overshadow you so that the Holy One will be born. Holy One to be born will be called the son of God. About the angel Gabriel told Mary her baby would be conceived by the Holy Spirit and in some ways. That's an answer. That's a mystery because that doesn't give Mary an exact answer. It is the same language that used in the Old Testament of God's presence dwelling in the Tabernacle in the temple until God's presence will be upon you and so that the child that you have a son that was born to you will be called son of the most high so the answer is both a mystery and also a miracle because he doesn't get out a science chart and say Here's house exactly going to happen instead. He just says trust God this is going to happen. God's presence will be with you. The way was with Israel in the Old Testament. So that the child that you give birth to the son that is born to you will be called the son of the most time now, we can react a couple of different ways to something that is a mystery to us. We can be frustrated. Are we can be in all? Is it where we can choose those two differences sometimes when something isn't explain to us or we don't know the answer as to why something is going on we can let that frustrate us and that frustration I think is based on the assumption. That were the top of the food chain. So to speak right? I demanded to know I demand to understand why this is happening. Even Jobe in the Old Testament had some of those moments was wondering why why is if he had this right to shake his fist at God and God's gracious and patience But ultimately God shows up and says, do you think that you're the one who has the right to shake your fist at me and demand an answer? What were you there when I spoke words and the Earth itself came into existence out of nothing. Are you able to call about of the Earth oceans and space for water? You understand all the creatures of the universe that are so amazing and stunning. and job says

Nasir

appropriately moments when we get an answer from God of response that is a mystery to us. We decide based on our own ego and our own Pride to some extent. How do I respond to that mystery? Do I respond with frustration and say I demand to know why this has happened in my life or why this prayer wasn't answered or why things did not turn out this way or do we respond to God with reverence and humility. We can meet mystery and with confusion and frustration or with reverence and humility and Mary models for us the right response. I know historically in Christianity that Catholicism has elevated married to a level that protestantism is not comfortable with and I agree with products has them on that. But sometimes we're so afraid of elevating Mary at all that we just go the other direction and ignore her completely. It is not mother Mary, but it is Model Mary. She is a model for us. She is an example for us to follow. She demonstrates In This Moment. How do you respond to this moment? That's overwhelming. How do you respond when you don't understand everything when God simply says I need you to step up and she models for us an example of discipleship and obedience to Christ to God in heaven above.

Oswald Chambers says we are not uncertain of God, but we are uncertain of what he will do next. If we are only certain in our beliefs and we get we get dignified if we are only certain in our beliefs we get dignified and severe and have the bane of finality about our views. But when we are rightly related to God life is full of spontaneous. Joyful, uncertainty and expectancy. One Christian song that I remember some years ago said I may not know what the future holds but I know who holds the future. That's the key for us. The reality is we don't know what God might ask of us next. We can't put him in a box and say I've got all my doctor and figured out I know exactly how my life should unfold from this point to the end. I've got all the t's crossed and the I's dotted there. It's settled. I've got my plans now just blast them. That's not the way it works. He's God and we're not But what we do know is God himself and his character and his goodness and his grace and his faithfulness. So we don't want to get so certain that we know exactly how everything should unfold in our own life and the life of the church in the life of the nation. Sometimes we get so rigid in the way we think things should exactly be this way that we become almost tight-fisted and mean-spirited and trying to enact what we see as the will of the Lord. As opposed to trusting in his goodness and hearing his voice studying his word hearing from him and responding as Mary models for us with this obedient. As you continue in this passage the angel continues to Mary even Elizabeth your relative who was mentioned at the beginning is going to have a child in her old age. And she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month for no word from God will ever fail So the angel Gabriel pointed to Elizabeth pregnancy as an example of God's power and assured Mary that God will always fulfill his promises by the way as an aside. Do you know there are only three Angels named in all of scripture? You know from some of the stuff you see in Christian book stores and other places you would think there's a million and that there's one on everybody shoulder and then it's all you know, it's all spelled out that way. But when you go from Genesis to Revelation there only three Angels named in all of scripture on Gabriel's one of them Michaels the other and I've got a free pack of gum right here sealed unopened for anybody who after the service can tell me the third Angel who's named in scripture. So you get a little treat so that'll keep you wondering by now. I should have done that cuz no one's going to think about the sermon the rest of time. Cindy just won the gum. She cheated she just mouth the name of the third Angels got a trick question, but Cindy knows you're ready Lucifer is the third Angel that's named in scripture. So when you when you look at Ya Cindy knew it immediately when we sometimes we have assumptions about what scripture teaches or what's in it, but when you actually start looking only three names in all of scripture, you kind of get surprised by that that's why there's a high-value and actually going directly to the word of God and studying it firsthand because sometimes I dare not say this out loud, my fellow-creatures might not like this sometimes preachers are wrong. Take me to say that in public on a Sunday morning. You may have been taught something from a preacher that later you go back and look at scripture and going to wait a minute. It's not right. And so it's always good to be like the bereans write a naxos to check the word of God yourself and directly to the angel Gabriel wanted to Elizabeth pregnancy as an example of God's parrot power to marry cuz she think how's this going to be in then he gives her this overwhelming news nieces look. Your your relative Elizabeth. She was said to be Barren and she's pregnant now in her sixth month. Can do these things. This thing that I just told you about that you a virgin are going to be pregnant. God can do these things. This is going to happen. God will fulfill his promise to you. Here's Mary's response. And therefore our example, I am the Lord's servant Mary answered. May your word to me before filled then the angel left her. Think about the gravity of this response of this young teenage girl. Think of the example in the model she is frosted at this young age. She had this sort of faith. I mean sometimes when you look at some of the heroes of scripture, they're not this good. Like Moses, you know, God said, I got a plan for you more this way. I'm not the one that you got the wrong guy. I'm not good at talking. You can't send me until God has to say when I'll get somebody to help you and we'll figure out worried at the kind of coddling. You see that pattern sometimes. And merry when it's all unpack says I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled and then the angel left her Mary declare that she was the Lord's servant. Implying in the original Greek that she was God slave with a spirit of compliance and gratitude now it's hard for us and today's culture to hear the word slave and not automatically think of negative things. But in this culture there was this what the way the languages use. It's this sense of being in the presence of greatness of this Great and Mighty King and Abyss Great and Mighty king would allow me to be his servant I would be thrilled to be his slave I would do whatever he wanted if I can get if I could serve I mean if I could be in the court of Biscayne and I would gladly gladly fight with with gratitude. I would be thrilled to be servant to the Lord most high. So it's not the image of slavery that Humanity created when there was the evil of humans inflicting slavery on other humans. It's a completely different thing when the Divine says I'm inviting you to be my servant. And the human says the real to do it honored to do it a privilege to be in your court to be your servant. And so when Mary says I'm your servant is the word for slave there and implies the sense of compliance and gratitude to the Lord. Now. Let's draw a couple of conclusions here as we moved toward the end some things that feel like unexpected eruptions to our lives our plans things that can even feel like death to us can actually be invitations to a greater life in service to God's great cause Do you see how that's drawn out of this passage? Mary may be making wedding plans. She probably was at the local stationery shop getting wedding invitations put together. I mean, it was all worked out and plan. This is how it's going to happen. I'm going to marry Joseph after we're married. We're going to consummate the marriage and we're going to have children and therefore we won't be looked upon in the community with disdain for having children outside of wedlock and we'll have this great family will live near our parents and we'll have a great house and the kids will grow up and wolf. You don't have modest success and we'll go to take a vacation down to the Sea of Galilee every now and then, you know, we will have this this is how I've got it worked out in my mind. And everything that she had imagined was suddenly disrupted and interrupted and the expected was replaced with the unexpected.

and Mary said may it be so may your word be fulfilled. I am your servant. Sometimes I think if we're not careful, we can have our own vision and our own life planned out so fully that really we're simply asking God to bless what we've got in mind. Whose mind is greater God's mind or I might even in Corinthians. Paul says that we have the mind of Christ in US. So whose mind is greater who can imagine a greater life me as I plan out with this is what I want to point three kids. My plan didn't work out that way. And I'm blessed because of it. Here's one I want I want to not travel far and always be in your family are want to travel everywhere and see every spot in or whatever it is. It doesn't matter what it is. We imagine how we want things to work out. But the reality is sometimes there are detours and derailments and and what are immediately seen as tragedies that come our way sometimes we don't get the scholarship without we're going to get to maybe we get kicked out of school may be that spouse leaves us. Things go a different direction, but with a Mary Heart In This Moment those things that the adversary designed for evil God can use for good as scripture says elsewhere. And so what Feels Like A disruption could really be an invitation what feels like something that is killing us. There's moments in your life. Will you feel like I had this planned Lord. This was what I was going to do. My marriage was going to be like this. My kids were going to be like this to my job is going to be like that. It's just it's killing me. It's killing me. I'm dying. There are times in which that death is a tremendous blessing. Oh that like Mary we could let go of our own life.

As a landlord served. May your word be fulfilled. Do you think that Mary's life under the Lord juice and guidance turned out to be greater than it would have been in our own hands.

Our Lives could be so much larger than we can ever imagine or orchestrate on her own. All you have to do is listen to the lives of those who climb to the top of success in this world. Just watch VH1 for 24 hours during the holiday break. You just can I go wow people get everything that they dream they wanted that would make their life rich and happy and they end up at rock bottom. God can do much more with our lives than we can ever do on our own. That's why Jesus says things like this Luke 17:33 from the message if you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you'll lose it. But if you let that life go you get life on God's terms. Throughout the scripture he said again and again, if you want to be my disciple pick up your cross and follow me. If you want to find your life deny yourself, if you want to live then walk toward death and you will find life until those very things sometimes feel like they're killing us might be this tremendous blessing where God is helping us die to ourselves and say yes to a life larger than we could ever imagine. Who knows that God isn't just looking today. For men or women who will say yes to him no matter the consequences. Who knows that he's not anxious to do great things in our church in our city and our nation and our world and he's just longing Chronicles talks about that God searching the Earth for someone whose Hearts fully committed to him John chapter 4 talk about that. God is looking for those who will worship Him in spirit. And Truth is God's scanning. The Earth is God scanning Lexington is God scanning our church and our homes for a heart like Mary's that could say I am your servant. And then it could he do things in your life that are far beyond anything you could ever imagine.

One last thought and then I'll call the worship team up God's grace is given to help us live the life. He designed us to live. Think about that for a few moments God's grace is Real and True. You've heard me preach it again. And again and again God's tremendous love and grace is real and solid and you will hear me preach it again and again in the future because it is so cool and so essential but it's vital that we understand it in the right context. His grace is given to us so that we can live the life. He designed us to live still the angel says to Mary don't be afraid of this huge overwhelming news that I'm giving to you because you have found great favor great grace with the Lord until this tremendous Grace that was coming from God for Mary was coming to her so that she would be able to live the life. He had designed her to live. And and we get it wrong. We short circuit what God wants to do in our lives when we say thank you Lord for the grace. Thank you for the Forgiveness. Now. I'm going to go about living my life the way I have always wanted to live it. I accept forgiveness. I'm looking forward to heaven. But now I'm going to get get on with planning and orchestrating my own life and it's almost as if we take 1% of the grace and love and greatness that God has for our lives and we say that's enough. Thank you and we move on and we turn our back on this 99% that he wants to pour into our lives and hearts and transform who we are and 5 years 10 years 20 or 30 years into our walk with God. We still set up a few years ago that somehow you were supposed to give me the power to overcome that since I don't wouldn't always be bitter about what happened to me when I was young but here it's been forty years and I'm still bitter About It lyrics for I thought my life would do great things. You don't have to check every now and then there's always the missionary who seems to be doing great things. It's always that other person for the crazy person at church is always with us into their neighbor bathhouses something it's never happening in my own life Lord. At any moment, he's ready for you to turn to him like Mary and say I give you my life my whole life my money my retirement my career my college my children my goals my neighbor my home my cat. My dog's I give you my whole life. And what he wants is to pour in all of his grace into our life has his grace is given to us so that we can live the life. He designed Us tool if it's not given to us so that we can say thank you for having and then we orchestrate our own life. Look at what Paul says in Ephesians here. He says for we are God's Masterpiece. He has created us a new in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things. He planned for us long ago. It is not just marry for whom God has great plans. It is everyone who is in Christ? And when you give your life to God and when you are in Christ, he creates us a new cleanses us and forgives us and reconciles us to him pores that Grayson drive. So we are reconciled to God said he does that as the first step of many in our life not the first and only step not the first and last step but the first step so that we can be used for Hills Goodwill and purposes The Works. He created long ago for us to walk into he renews us in Christ so that we can live the life. He designed us to live a life that resembles the Life of Christ. I like that brings God's light Into Darkness a life that knows how to trust God in the midst of overwhelming moment a life that like Mary can look at everything and say I don't know how this is going to happen.

I'm all in cuz if you're involved with that God then I'm all in. I'm all in. I'm going to buy our worship team to come forward. And as we sing Our Hymn of invitation, if you've never made that decision to say to God, I'm all in that I invite you to make that decision to say, you know what I may not know God what my future holds I may know. I mean, I know what you have planned for me, but I know you enough to say I trust you. I'm all in that's a decision you can make for the first time and to be really honest with you. It's a decision you can make for the one millionth time as a follower. Cuz sometimes as a follower you just got to wake up and you can't go. Well. I really haven't really I haven't asked God. What do you want me to do this next year. I just kind of got it all planned out seems like good enough to me. I've never really stopped and say Lord. I it'll give him permission. There's a dangerous prayer Lord if I have made plans that are keeping you from working in my life than for my plans. Would you pray that prayer the great prayer be the best thing ever happened to you? Because our plans are Petty compared to what God wants to do and can do in our lives. And so I invite you like Mary to say I serve which is a good thing. But my identity I am the Lord's servant. I'm his slave with compliance and gratitude. I say to God in heaven above take my life. Every bit of it use it for things greater than I can ever imagine or orchestrate on my own. Let me follow Mary's example and trust you. I'll be in the back. If you have a prayer request or decision to make come find me back. There will be other folks in the back and they'll also be folks in the front for any prayer concerns. You have our decisions that you have by the way. Some folks are asking about me being in the back. I've had more folks coming pray with me in the back than I ever had come and play with me in the front. And another Minister told me that's how he did on Sunday morning. We'll try it. I thought about somebody like my brother who is so shy and self-conscious that he would literally say I just assumed go to hell then stand in front of a crowd. He is that self-conscious about what it means to stand in front of others. And so we want to make it easier for folks in case you're wondering why is he go to back then? He like us I love you for those you have no clue have no problem coming to the front then you'd have no problem coming to the back. For those who might stay in their few and not come to the front cuz they don't want me in front of everybody then. I'm glad to be in the back. Top of that opportunity. So if you want to be prayed for if you got a decision to make I'll be back there, but they'll be other prayer folks and I'll be prayer folks in the front two anywhere in the room, and if everybody's taking then turn to the person next to you and say can we pray together and pray together for a moment, please stand as we sing Our closing song.