Attributes of Advent

Attributes of Advent- Wk 2

12.7.25 | Attributes of Advent – Omnipotent & Immanent | Luke 1:26-38

Luke 1. Attributes of Advent. Behind the story of Jesus’ arrival is the story of the God who longs to be known. Christmas exist so that we can know God! The more we know Him, the more we love Him. The more we love Him, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more we find rest in Him. Thru this story God unveils, unwraps more of Himself, His nature, character, essence. Last wk., Sovereignty-Mercy. Today we’ll see how God is (ON SCREEN)

Omnipotent and Immanent

God is all-powerful and always present.

God’s Omnipotence:God is all powerful, nothing is impossible for Him. God’s Immanence: God is near, personally involved in the smallest details of our lives, present w/ His people. (When my kids know that I am big and strong..were little & something scared them, storm, shadow, noise, they ran straight to me. 1st, b/c they believed I was strong enough to deal w/ whatever was out there. Dad is my protector. They also ran to me b/c there was comfort in my nearness. My strength reassured them, but my presence calmed them.) That is who God is to us: omnipotent enough to handle anything, immanent enough to be right here w/ us.

Luke 1:26-28, (ON SCREEN) “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. & the virgin's name was Mary. 28 & he came to her & said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is w/ you!”

God shows up in places we least expect...because He is near. | Isn’t it beautiful how God loves to begin His greatest works in places we overlook? No one expected the sovereign God of all creation to show up to a teenage girl that no one knew, who was engaged to a guy no one knew, living in a back-water map-dot town w/ a bad reputation (John 1:46, Nathanial, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’) Yet, God comes near. Think ab/t Zechariah from last wk. & Mary this wk. Same angel, same God drawing near weaving them into the same glorious story. We may be tempted to think that God drew near to Zechariah b/c he was religious & righteous & important as a priest. Here God draws near to Mary. No importance, no pedigree, no influence, power, following. A young woman quietly humbly walking w/ the Lord. She is chosen solely as a matter of God’s grace. God’s presence isn’t reserved for those in pulpits. He comes to all of us, the quiet, the unseen, show up in the corners of life you wouldn’t expect b/c He is near. There is no access I have that you don’t!& when God draws near it’s not b/c we’re impressive, it’s b/c of His grace & His delight in giving us His presence! Notice V.28, (ON SCREEN) “28 & he came to her & said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is w/ you!”

God’s nearness brings undeserved favor. | Mary didn’t deserve the favor & PoG. What has she done that 1,000’s of other young women just like her had not done? Nothing. It’s just God’s grace, unmerited favor. Also, Gabriel doesn’t lead w/ something Mary has to do in order to get God’s attention & blessing. Doesn’t lead w/ a task. He doesn’t show up w/ pressure. He shows up w/ grace. “Greetings…you are favored & the Lord is WITH you.” B/f Mary does anything, God gives everything. Oh, we need this church...Some of us walk into church carrying the weight of feeling behind, like we haven’t done enough & can’t be enough. But the immanence, the nearness of God doesn’t put weight on your shoulders, it lifts it off. B/f you obey Him, He’s already for you. B/f you understand Him, He’s already w/ you. B/f you say ‘yes’ to God, He has already said ‘yes’ to you in Christ! That’s immanence. God with us. God toward us. God for us.

Luke 1:29-30, (ON SCREEN) “But she was greatly troubled at the saying, & tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 & the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor w/ God.”

The nearness of God speaks peace into our fear. | Mary is understandably troubled. Anyone would be. But notice the heart of God in Gabriel’s words: “Do not be afraid.” God doesn’t shame her fear; He doesn’t diminish it. He lovingly speaks comfort into her fear. Church, we often imagine God as frustrated w/ us, disappointed in us, annoyed by our anxieties. But when we see His heart toward us, we see the God who is infinite in power is also the God who is infinite in tenderness. He is always moving toward our fear w/ compassion. Some of you are carrying fears nobody else sees. God sees. & He’s speaking peace over you today. Now, Gabriel begins to lift Mary’s eyes & ours to the omnipotence of God. He is near, He is powerful!

Luke 1:31-33, (ON SCREEN) “& behold, you will conceive in your womb & bear a son, & you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great & will be called the Son of the Most High. & the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 & he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, & of his kingdom there will be no end.”

God’s omnipotence is building a Kingdom nothing can stop. |Gabriel wants to show us something breathtaking. The child she will carry is the Son of the Most High God! He will reign forever. His kingdom will never end. This is omnipotence, unstoppable power.When God comes to Mary & says she will have the Son of God who will build an eternal kingdom, He’s not patching things together as history falls apart! He is writing a story that cannot be interrupted! This promise was made ab/t 700 yrs. earlier in Isaiah 9:6-7, (ON SCREEN) “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; & the government shall be upon his shoulder, & his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government & of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David & over his kingdom, to establish it & to uphold it w/ justice & w/ righteousness from this time forth & forevermore. The zeal (power) of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Let’s linger here a min.: This is God’s unstoppable power orchestrating history toward one immovable inevitable outcome: the eternal reign of Jesus Christ! God is not having to make hour-by-hour adjustments b/c of Ceasar’s census, Herod’s violence, political unrest, spiritual darkness, human, sin, or the devil himself. God’s omnipotence means His kingdom does not rise or fall w/ world events. Think ab/t the kingdoms that have tried to stand against God: Egypt’s empire-gone. Babylon-gone. Persia-gone. Rome-gone. Every modern superpower-temporary. But Jesus? Still on His throne. His kingdom cannot be voted out, overthrown, invaded, sabotaged, canceled, or replaced. He reigns. He rules. He cannot be derailed! He is omnipotent!

Mary is ab/t to ask a very logical, natural Q. Gabriel’s answer highlights the unstoppable power of God. Luke 1:34-37, (ON SCREEN) “& Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” I was just ab/t to ask that! Mary asked a natural Q, Gabriel gives a supernatural answer. 35 & the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, & the power (dunamis) of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy–the Son of God. 36 & behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, & this is the sixth month w/ her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible w/ God.”

God’s omnipotence accomplishes the impossible. | We talk in this language often, but I wonder if we live in it, rest in it, truly believe it. That the omnipotent God can do anything! He is not limited by our limitations. Our limitations actually highlight His power! Mary’s Q is honest & based on the limitations she knows exist…How can this be, since I am a virgin? There’s a natural order to this that hasn’t been followed. What you’re saying is impossible! Gabriel’s answer is honest & based in the reality that nothing limits God! How can this be? Nothing is impossible w/ God!The doctrine of the virgin birth is one of the essential beliefs of our faith. The Jesus was not conceived by man, but by the Holy Spirit, & was born of a virgin. This is incredibly important! Not a side detail. The virgin birth matters b/c it safeguards two essential truths: Jesus is fully God & fully man. He was born of a woman, so He shares our humanity. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, so He carries God’s divine nature. W/out the virgin birth, Jesus would be just another sinful human. With it, He is the sinless Savior who can stand in our place & redeem us! The virgin birth shows us salvation had to come from outside of us. We couldn’t fix ourselves, so God stepped in. Born of Mary, Jesus is one of us. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is God w/ us. Only someone both fully human & fully divine could fully save us!

Back to Mary’s Q, how can this be? Many of us live in the ‘how.’ “How will God restore this? How will God fix what I’ve broken & what I can’t fix? How can God use someone like me?” Those are often honest Q’s b/c we only see our limitations. Let me give you some good news: (ON SCREEN) Your limitations don’t threaten God. They reveal Him. Your ‘I can’t’ becomes the doorway for His ‘I will!’ & how does God work in us? The same way He worked in Mary…by the power of the Holy Spirit! 1:35, (ON SCREEN) “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, & the power of the Most High will overshadow you” This is still how God works! This is where God’s omnipotence becomes intimate. How God’s power draws near. God’s power is not distant, abstract, or locked up in heaven. It moves toward us, overshadows us, fills us, strengthens us, & accomplishes in us what we could never accomplish in ourselves. This is why we’re constantly praying for more of the Spirit’s filling, more of His power, more of His nearness. The Spirit of God is how the power of God accomplishes the purposes of God in the people of God! Which means the virgin birth is not just a doctrine to affirm. It is a picture of how God works in all His people. When we can’t…God can & God does.

Underscore

Closing: And listen, He’s already at work in places & in ways you cannot see. God is working right now in realms you know nothing ab/t! Luke 1:36-37, (ON SCREEN)“& behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, & this is the sixth month w/ her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible w/ God.” Gabriel mentions Elizabeth who is pregnant in her old age. Why bring this up? B/c God knows Mary needs encouragement. He knows what will strengthen her. God is always doing more than you know, in more places than you see. In your family, friendships. In prayers you forgot you prayed. In situations you gave up on. He is the God who can do far more abundantly than all we can ask or even imagine!

What do we do with this? How do we do in response to the God who is all-powerful & yet near & present? Mary says something in V.38 that only makes sense if God is who He says He is. V.38, (ON SCREEN) “& Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” & the angel departed from her.” The answer is full surrender. ‘I am the servant, let it be to me according to Your word, Your will.’ This is not the surrender of defeat; it's the surrender of trust. Mary choses to trust the Lord & fully yield her life to the current He was putting her in. Not b/c she understood everything, not b/c the path was easy or even clear, not b/c the cost was small b/c it would not be! But b/c she trusted the heart of the God. That His power & His nearness were working for her good & His glory. Church, surrender is not God taking from you, it is God leading you. It is not losing control, it’s finally placing control into the hands of the One who actually has it. It is not resignation, it is alignment. It is not fear, it’s trust. It is not punishment, it’s an invitation to a life of joy & glory!

God is so much more powerful than we think & so much closer than we realize. & when his power & nearness collide in your heart, something beautiful happens. You stop fighting for control & start resting in the One who is in control. You stop demanding certainty, & start trusting His character. You stop bracing for impact, & start leaning into grace.

Salvation…trust the Lord for the first time. Fully surrender to Him.

Surrender…what circumstance do you need to surrender right now? Family, marriage, health, job, friendship, finances? Where do you most need to see the power of God show up? Where do you need to feel His nearness?