The True Story: A God Who Entrusts

Good morning again everyone…It is so good to be here. Whether you are here live in the room or joining us online, I want to thank you for being a part of the LRBC Spiritual family. It is so good to get to worship week in and week out together and grow in community and Biblical wisdom with everyone here!

Right now, our kids can head to their classes and meet their teachers in the back. Their time there is designed to help them grow in their knowledge of God and their relationship with Him. As a church, we want to come alongside you as parents, assisting you as you teach and disciple your children in the Scriptures. You have entrusted your kids to us for this hour, and we want to steward that gift well. So parents, talk with your kids over lunch about what they learned—help continue the discipleship that starts here. Toward the end of the service, they’ll return so they can join us for communion as a church family.

Now, we just spend three weeks learning and talking about how God entrusts his kingdom work to his people.

Today, we are stepping into the Christmas story, and it turns out that the theme of God entrusting his servants didn’t start in Matthew 25…we see it in Nazareth.

Because the very first Christmas begins with God handing His mission to someone who didn’t seem important, powerful, or prepared at all—a teenage girl in a forgotten town called Nazareth. Mary doesn’t just receive news about a Messiah; she is entrusted with carrying Him, nurturing Him, and bringing Him into the world.

So Christmas isn’t just a story we celebrate—it’s a mission we step into. God entrusts His work to His people, just as He entrusted His Son to Mary.

Before the service ends today, you’ll have the chance to place your own “yes” before God—just as Mary did.

Now, let’s go ahead and read the whole section of Scripture that we are going to look at today so that we have a full picture of what is going on. Then, we will break down and look at different sections of this story.

Go ahead and turn to

Luke 1:26–38 ESV

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from 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. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And 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 bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to 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 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

We’ve just read one of th emost familiar Christmas passages in Scripture…but, before we rush to the manger, or even to Mary’s response, we have to notice what happens first.

You see, this story doesn’t begin with Mary—her character, her courage, or even her consent. It begins with God moving toward her. Before Mary ever says, “Let it be to me,” God has already said, “I am sending.”.

The true story of Christmas begins with divine initiative…and that’s our first truth for today.

The God Who Initiates His Mission (v.26-29)

You see…what is happening here 2000 years ago is that God was breaking into the ordinary with his extraordinary grace…and he is still doing that today.

Now there is something that i really want us to notice here. You see, when we look at this story we see that

God Moves First

In vs 26 we see that in the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent from God.

When God “sent” Gabriel that was not a meaningless action. The word sent shows purpose. God sent Gabriel for a purpose. He initiated salvation history with this move of sending Gabriel.

This is an action that began in heaven, not earth. This is an action that shows the divine trinity…not human imagination.

Christmas is not a story of humanity reaching up to God, but of God coming down to humanity. However, this movement of his mission was sent for a very specific person. You see…

God’s Mission Comes to the Humble

Mary was a young woman. She was unknown to the masses, she was ordinary and was in an unassuming town that wasn’t expecting to be used in this great mission of God.

The puritan’s would say that God delights to use “unlikely instruments” so all of the glory very clearly belongs to Him, and not to man. You see, her lack of status was actually important becuase that highlights God’s divine grace, and his choice to come to man.

The True Story Begins With God Entrusting Himself

The angel of the Lord addresses Mary saying, “Greetings favored one. The Lord is with you.” God is already with Mary prior to her being told about God’s plan for his son.

What does that mean? The Greek term speaks of God’s gracious, undeserved favor. Mary did not earn or merit this kindness—God freely chose her as the vessel for His mission. This directly challenges the Roman Catholic teaching of the Immaculate Conception, which claims Mary was preserved from sin from her own conception. Scripture presents Mary as a recipient of grace, not the source of it.

The true story of Christmas tells us that God’s grace precedes his calling. In other words, God initiates, God chooses, and God empowers us for his mission that he has entrusted to us.

Because God initiates His mission, the next question is this: Who does he entrust it to? Luke shows us that God places the very heart of His redemptive plan into human hands—specifically, into Mary’s.

Take a look at…

The God Who Entrusts His Mission to His People (v.30-33)

It is truly astounding that God chose fallible people to carry forward His saving mission. He could have acted independently and irresistibly—but He delights to work through His servants. God entrusted Mary with this role, not because she earned it, but because He sovereignly chose her by His grace. In this passage we see that “Mary is entrusted with the very heart of God’s salvation plan.

That’s how the true story of Christmas starts…

God Entrusts Mary With the Most Precious Gift

Gabriel says to Mary, “You will conceive…and bear a son.”

Right here Mary is entrusted with the Holy Incarnate Word of Life. She was entrusted with God’s ultimate “talent”, his most precious son, and that is so important.

God Entrusts Her With the Identity of Jesus

Gabriel tells Mary exactly who she will conceive. He says this baby’s name will be Jesus which in Hebrew is Yehoshua (or Joshua) meaning the Lord is Salvation. Gabriel also says he will be: Great—Son of the Most High—He will reign forever on the throne of David. There is no confusion about what is happening here folks. The terminology that is used is specifically to highlight this is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant promises, which says that someone from David’s lineage would reign forever—something that comes fulfilled in Jesus.

You see, even Mary is a steward of what God has entrusted to her, and stewardship is never abstract, it is tied to God’s revealed will and his revealed Son.

While the story of Christmas starts with Gabriel and Mary, that’s not where it stops.

God Entrusts His Mission to Us Today

Christmas reminds us that God does not merely save us; He sends us.

God sovereignly uses the weak to carry forward his unstoppable grace…God chooses to use you and I, human instruments to propel his grace and his mission, just like he chose Mary and Joseph 2000 years ago.

Of course, if God entrusts His mission to His people, then the next question becomes: How can anyone bear such a calling? Mary’s response shows us that the God who entrusts also empowers us, His servants to obey

The God Who Empowers Faithful Stewardship (v.34-38)

Look at Mary’s response to the angel: “Let it be to me according to your word.” This is the heartbeat of faithful stewardship. Mary becomes the model of a servant who receives God’s Word, trusts God’s power, and submits to God’s mission.

Now, lets be clear…Mary was terrified, she was unsure, she was questioning…but her heart said, “Let it be to me”. Because of her humility…

Honest Questions Are Met With Divine Assurance

Mary questions, “How can this be…?” This isn’t counted as unbelief, or doubt, but as a humble moment of wonder. Mary is a virgin, everything she understands is that this is not a possibility. Mary is confused at the reality of what is happening here, not trying to push off God’s appointment like Moses who said “I’m not a very good spokesman.”

Immediately Mary’s genuine question is met with the divine response including the actions of the Holy Spirit. You see,

God Provides Everything He Requires

That means whatever God calls you to, He also supplies the grace and power to accomplish. God never commands without enabling. The Spirit who overshadowed Mary is the same Spirit who strengthens every believer for God’s mission.

So when Mary asks, “How will this be?” She is told that “The Holy Spirit will come upon you…” Here’s the deal, there is a little phrase that is hanging in our house that says this, “The will of God will not take you where the grace of God will not protect you.” Ive heard that saying witptrotect you, provide for you, hold you, all of them basically mean the same thing. When God calls you to do something, He will give you what is needed in order to accomplish his mission.

Essentially, God empowers every calling with His Spirit, and the Spirit always equips God’s people for God’s mission. The reality is that

Divine Promises Sustain Human Obedience

Nothing is impossible for God. Gabriel told Mary about Elizabeth’s pregnancy in order to show Mary that nothing was impossible for God. If God would allow Elizabeth to have a baby when she is past her child bearing years, then certainly Mary who is just entering her child bearing years would be able to have a child through the Holy Spirit.

Here is something that’s really, really cool that the puritan’s used to say—divine promises are fuel for sanctified obedience. In other words, God’s fulfilled promises drive you to obey him.

Of course that’s only if you recognize God as the source of that fulfilled promise. That also means you have to surrender to whatever it is that God is calling you to do.

Did you pay attention to Mary’s response?

Luke 1:38 ESV

… “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” …

When Mary first said, “Let it be to me” she was truly saying, “I am yours”; “Your mission is my mission”; “Your word defines my life”

Mary heard what the Angel of the Lord said and it moved her to respond. You and I have heard what the Angel of the Lord has said, and we have the benefit of seeing the last 2000 years of history…have you been moved to respond?

Really we need to realize that the God who entrusts also empowers.

This morning, there really is a question that I want everyone to wrestle with this morning for a brief moment. You see, just as Mary responded to God’s entrusting with surrender, so much we.

So, on your chair is a commitment card. I want to ask you all to take that card and answer the following question:

What is God entrusting to me this Christmas that I need to surrender to Him in obedient faith?

Maybe you’re sitting there right now and you realize you need to repent of your sin and trust the Lord with your life. . Maybe you realize that there is a relationship that you need to trust the Lord with. Just like Mary didn’t have all the answers maybe you simply need to say, “how can I do this”, not in a disobedient way, but as the humble response to a child who wants to obey your father. Maybe it’s time for you to surrender to the Lord and realize that God is calling you to some sort of ministry opportunity. Your response should be something like, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Christmas is a special time because it is a time that as Christians we have set aside to remember the day that Jesus stepped out of Heaven to enter into the body of a mortal man. This is the day that is only meaningful the way it is because at the end of 33 years walking this Earth he sacrificed his body on a cross much like the one over here to my side.

Today we are going to take some time to decorate the true Christmas Tree…the one that was cut down to form a cross that Jesus would die on. Today we will go as a family to take your elements of communion in the back of the room and you will take those up to the cross along with your Christmas ornament and you will hang your ornament, and lay down your commitment cards, and take communion as a family. Then you will return back to your seat and continue to worship as others walk through that process.

Communion is the ultimate reminder that God entrusted His Son for us—given for our salvation—and now entrusts us with the proclamation of that gospel until He returns. The incarnation we celebrate at Christmas finds its purpose in the cross we remember at communion.

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

In the action of communion we affirm that we receive Christ, we trust Christ, we steward the gospel of Christ, and most importantly we surrender to Christ.

So I will pray, and then there will be music playing and as you are ready you are encouraged to go with your family.

Pray

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