Danger: God At Work

INTRODUCTION

OPENING: I HATE WAITING…FOR MY FOOD IN RESTAURANTS…ON AIRPLANES…MY MOTHER IN LAW AND I GOT OFF TO A ROCKY START THAT TOOK A FEW YEARS TO RECOVER FROM BECAUSE WHEN I ASKED HER FOR PERMISSION TO MARRY HER DAUGHTER SHE SAID LET ME THINK ABOUT IT AND I’LL GET BACK TO YOU, AND I COULDN’T WAIT SO I DID IT ANYWAYS. I HATE WAITING…IN BAY AREA TRAFFIC. WHAT DRIVES ME NUTS ABOUT BAY AREA TRAFFIC IS THAT OFTEN TIMES IT’S BACKED UP AND DELAYED, AND WHEN IT FINALLY OPENS UP THERE’S NO SIGN OF WHAT HAPPENED. THIS IS THE WORST PART ABOUT WAITING, IT’S WHEN THERE SEEMS TO BE NO PURPOSE, NO REASON, THE SILENCE OF IT ALL. IT’S A WAITING THAT SEEMS TO BE RANDOM…A WAITING THAT LEAVES YOU WONDERING DID THEY FORGET ABOUT ME.

APPLICATION: TO BE A CHRISTIAN MEANS TO GO THROUGH INTENSE SEASONS OF WAITING ON GOD, WONDERING IF HE’S FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU. THIS WAS THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PROPHET HABAKKUK WHEN HE SAID, “Oh Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not hear? Why are you silent when the wicked man swallows up the one more righteous than he?”- , . IT WAS THE POET W.H. AUDEN WHO PICKED UP THE PROPHET H’S THOUGHT WHEN HE SAID, “…We are afraid of pain but more afraid of silence; for no nightmare of hostile objects could be as terrible as this Void. This is the Abomination. This is the Wrath of God”- W.H. Auden, For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio. Ever been there? Ever felt the silence of God as you waited? Some of you are waiting to get pregnant…Others of you are waiting for something to happen in your career…waiting in your marriage. Waiting to get through the valley of despair, turn the page and arise to the mountains of hope…waiting. You’ve been praying about these things and silence...

ILLUSTRATION: WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE ON ROAD TRIPS…CRUISING ALONG AND THEN BOOM TRAFFIC! WAITING. BUT WHAT BRINGS US COMFORT ARE LITTLE ORANGE SIGNS WITH BLACK WORDS WRITTEN ON THEM: DANGER: MEN AT WORK. THIS HELPS ME FOR TWO REASONS: ONE I AM BEING TOLD THERE IS A REASON TO THE WAIT, BUT TWO I AM BEING TOLD THAT THIS REASON IS ULTIMATELY FOR MY BENEFIT. WHAT WAS DAMAGED, FILLED WITH POTHOLES AND DANGEROUS IS NOW BEING WORKED OUT FOR MY ULTIMATE GOOD.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT:

ADVENT IS ALL ABOUT WAITING!!!

THIS IS EXACTLY THE PREDICAMENT OF ISRAEL WE FIND THEM IN WHEN WE COME TO OUR TEXT. THE PERIOD BETWEEN THE TESTAMENTS IS CALLED THE 400 YEARS OF SILENCE. NO PROPHETS, GOD IS NOT SPEAKING. FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS!!! BUT BEFORE THAT GOD HAD PLACED SIGNS IN THE FORM OF PROPHECIES THAT THERE WOULD BE A MESSIAH THAT WOULD COME AS PAUL WOULD SAY IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME. FINALLY A BREAKTHROUGH WITH MARY AS THE ANGEL GABRIEL PRESENTS HER A SIGN THAT WHE WOULD BE THE ONE WHO WOULD BIRTH THE MESSIAH. YES ISRAEL WAS WAITING, BUT WHILE THEY WERE WAITING LIKE THE MEN ON THE ROADS, GOD WAS WORKING. HE WAS WORKING THROUGH THE GREEKS IN THE UNIFICATION OF LANGUAGE. WORKING THROUGH THE ROMANS IN THE MAKING OF ROADS ALL READYING FOR THE MESSIAH AND THE GOSPEL. WHILE THEY WERE WAITING GOD WAS WORKING!

APPLICATION: AND THE SAME IS TRUE FOR YOU. JUST BECAUSE GOD SEEMS SILENT DOESN’T MEAN GOD ISN’T WORKING. GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING IN YOUR VALLEY. GOD IS AT WORK IN YOUR SEASON OF BARRENNESS. GOD IS WORKING THINGS OUT DURING THE MARRIAGE CRISIS. GOD IS AT WORK DURING THE UNEMPLOYMENT. WHILE YOU ARE WAITING, REMEMBER GOD IS WORKING! AND WHAT HE IS WORKING IS FOR YOUR GOOD AND HIS GLORY- . TAG THIS TEXT: DANGER: GOD AT WORK!

(EMOTIONAL PLEA: SO WHAT AM I TO DO WHILE I WAIT!!!)

GOD IS WORKING THROUGH YOUR CALL- .

EXPLANATION: OUR TEXT HAS BEEN CALLED THE MAGNIFICAT, BECAUSE THE FIRST WORD IN THE LATIN TRANSLATION OF OUR TEXT CALLED THE VULGATE IS WHAT THE ESV CALLS MAGNIFIES WHICH IN LATIN IS CALLED THE MAGNIFICAT. MARY IS FILLED WITH JOY, AND SHE IS SPECIFICALLY RESPONDING TO ELIZABETH’S BLESSING OVER HER LIFE AS ELIZABETH IS AFFIRMING THE CALL OF GOD ON MARY TO BIRTH THE MESSIAH. THIS CALL WAS FIRST EXTENDED TO HER IN VERSE 26 WHEN THE ANGEL GABRIEL SHOWS UP ON THE SCENE AND ANNOUNCES THAT SHE WOULD BE THE ONE, CALLED AND CHOSEN BY GOD TO BIRTH THE LONG AWAITED MESSIAH. POINT: SO THAT WE SEE THAT MARY’S REJOICING IS ROOTED IN HER CALL!

APPLICATION: LET ME STOP RIGHT HERE AND EXTEND A QUICK APPLICATION. THE SAME GOD WHO CALLED MARY IS THE SAME GOD WHO HAS A CALL ON YOUR LIFE. IF YOU ARE IN CHRIST THERE IS A CALL. SAYS THAT THE GIFTS AND CALLING OF GOD ARE IRREVOCABLE. GOD HAS A CALL ON YOUR LIFE. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOUR MOTHER SAID. I DON’T CARE THAT YOU WEREN’T PLANNED BY OUR PARENTS. YOU WERE PLANNED BY GOD! THERE’S A CALL ON YOUR LIFE. I COME AGAINST A SPIRIT OF SUICIDE THAT SAYS WHAT’S IT WORTH, I’M USELESS, MIGHT AS WELL DIE. THAT’S FROM THE ENEMY. YOU WILL LIVE! THERE’S A CALL!

WAITING

BUT WHEN GOD CALLS HE OFTEN TIMES TAKES THROUGH A PERIOD OF WAITING AND FRUSTRATION AND ATTACK. YES, MARY HAS BEEN CALLED, BUT SHE MUST WAIT NINE MONTHS AS AN ENGAGED WOMAN BEFORE THIS BABY COMES INTO THE WORLD. SHE WILL BE WHISPERED ABOUT…CONSISTENT WITH SCRIPTURE. ABRAHAM AND SARAI WAITED A DECADE AFTER THEY WERE CALLED. JOSEPH WAITED MANY YEARS BEFORE THE DREAM BECAME DESTINY. DAVID WAITED FOURTEEN YEARS. AND SO WILL YOU.

RED VELVET CAKE ILLUSTRATION: I LOVE IT. THAT’S MY PROBLEM. GO TO THE STORE GET THE EGGS, FLOUR, SUGAR, ETC. THESE ITEMS HAVE A CALL. MY BIRTHDAY IS FEBRUARY 11. BUT THEY DON’T GO FROM CALL TO REALITY RIGHT AWAY. NO THEY MUST GO THROUGH A SILENT SUFFERING AND WAITING. WHERE THEY ARE LITERALLY BATTERED! THROWN INTO INTENSE HEAT, LEFT THERE FOR SOME CONSIDERABLE TIME AND THEN ITS READY. APPLICATION- THAT’S US. ANYONE WHOM GOD HAS GREATLY GIVEN HAS BEEN GREATLY BROKEN AND HAD TO LIVE IN LIFE’S OVEN BETWEEN CALL AND DESTINY.

BIGGER THAN YOU CAN THINK:

GOD’S CALL IS BIGGER THAN WE CAN THINK. STUDY THIS TEXT AND MARY SPEAKS IN NATIONALISTIC TERMS- VERSE 54. YES, MARY YOU ARE RIGHT, BUT ONLY PARTIALLY RIGHT. YOU HAVE NO IDEA. THIS BABY WILL NOT ONLY OFFER SALVATION TO ISRAEL BUT TO THE WORLD- GENTILES. AFRICANS WILL GET SAVED THROUGH THIS BABY…GERMANS...

ILLUSTRATION: …EXCEEDING. I’VE SEEN THIS IN MY OWN LIFE…WALKING AROUND THE POND AT PCB.

APPLICATION: I DECLARE TO YOU THERE IS A CALL ON YOUR LIFE AND ITS BIGGER THAN YOU COULD HAVE IMAGINED. START A BUSINESS...

GOD IS WORKING IN SPITE OF YOU-

EXPLANATION: THIS IS SOME HEADY STUFF THAT CAN LEAD TO ARROGANCE. MARY, WHO UNDERSTANDS THIS. “HUMBLE ESTATE”. THE GREEK WORD MEANS HUMILIATION. THE STATE OF BEING UNIMPORTANT. MARY HAS CORRECTLY SURMISED THAT SHE HAS DONE NOTHING TO WARRANT THIS CALL. SHE’S FROM A PODUNK TOWN CALLED NAZARETH. SHE HAS MEDIOCRE LOOKS. NOTHING AT ALL TELLS US THAT SHE DESERVES IT. SHE WASN’T SOME CONTESTANT ON THE REALITY SHOW CALLED, “THE MESSIAH’S MAMA,” WHERE SHE COMPETED AGAINST OTHERS AND WON. SHE WAS SELECTED BY THE FAVOR AND GRACE OF GOD!

SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION: IN FACT THE OVERWHELMING ARC OF SCRIPTURE IS THAT GOD USES THE LEAST LIKELY TO CARRY OUT HIS HUGE PURPOSES. : GOD USES THE WEAK THINGS TO STILL THE ENEMY. A SHEPHERD BOY NAMED DAVID. BARREN WOMBS TO START ISRAEL. GIDEON’S 300. QUOTE THE I CORINTHIANS PASSAGE: NOT MANY WISE…NONE OF THESE HAD AN IMPRESSIVE RESUME. YES GOD WORKS THROUGH US, BUT HE ALSO WORKS IN SPITE OF US!

TITANIC ILLUSTRATION: BILLED AS THE UNSINKABLE SHIP. A TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL. A LESSON IN LUXURY. RIGHT BEFORE THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC IT WAS BROADLY AIRED THAT NOT EVEN GOD COULD SINK THE SHIP. THAT WHAT MAN HAD MADE COULD NOT BE UNDONE BY ANYONE, NOT EVEN GOD. ON THE EVENING OF APRIL 14TH, 1912 THE TITANIC, THIS UNSINKABLE SHIP STRUCK AN ICEBERG. SOMETHING MAN BUILT STRUCK SOMETHING GOD CREATED, AND GOD WON! YOU DON’T WANT TO TAKE ON GOD. MARY POINTS TO THIS WHEN SHE SAYS HE SCATTERS THE PROUD.

OR THE MLK SUIT IN E CONCOURSE. IT’S NOT THE SUIT, ANY OLD SUIT WILL DO, IT’S WHO WORE THE SUIT. IT AIN’T ABOUT MARY, BUT WHO WORE MARY, JESUS CHRIST. IT AIN’T ABOUT YOU, BUT WHO WEARS YOU, JESUS CHRIST!

APPLICATION: YES THERE’S A CALL ON YOUR LIFE BUT DON’T YOU EVER FORGET IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH GOD’S MERCY AND GRACE. GOD HAS CHOSEN BY HIS GRACE TO WEAR YOU! BE HUMBLE!

GOD IS WORKING FOR FAR MORE THAN YOU-

EXPLANATION: MARY’S SONG IS INTERESTING. YES SHE IS REJOICING IN THE FACT THAT THERE IS A CALL ON HER LIFE, THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN TO USE HER. AND YES SHE UNDERSTANDS THAT GOD DIDN’T HAVE TO USE HER. BUT IF WE STOPPED HERE WE WOULD MAKE THIS A TYPICAL AMERICAN INDIVIDUAL THING WHERE GOD’S CALL IS ALL ABOUT ME AND MY LIFE. BUT MARY TO BE 12-14 IS SO WISE. SHE ENDS BY SAYING THAT GOD’S CALL IS NOT ULTIMATELY ABOUT HER, BUT ABOUT THE BROADER CALL AND PURPOSES OF GOD IN THE WORLD. LOOK AT THE TEXT. SHE THREADS HER CALL TO THE BROADER CALL ON ISRAEL BEGUN WITH ABRAHAM. ABRAHAMIC COVENANT EXPLANATION. JESUS IS THE ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT OF THAT. GOD’S CALL ON YOUR LIFE IS NOT ABOUT GOD’S CALL ON YOUR LIFE. YOU’RE JUST AN INSTRUMENT HE WANTS TO USE TO IMPLEMENT HIS BROADER PURPOSES IN THIS WORLD! GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING GREATER THAN YOUR ADDRESS.

ILLUSTRATION: MY LAST NAME IS A UNIQUE ONE SO UNIQUE THAT ANYONE WHO HAS IT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO ME. GOES BACK TO MY GREAT GREAT GRANDFATHER PETER WHO WAS A JESUS LOVING SLAVE…REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. MY FATHER WAS CONCERNED THAT I PRESERVE THE GOOD NAME I’D HAD. HOW I TREATED THAT WOMAN AND CARRIED MYSELF. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. IT WAS HIS PART OF SAYING YOU CARRY MY NAME AND ARE A PART OF A MUCH LARGER NARRATIVE.

APPLICATION: WHEN YOU GOT SAVED YOUR NAME BECAME CHRISTIAN. YOU REPRESENT CHRIST. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. YOU ARE A PART OF A MUCH BROADER NARRATIVE. A GREATER CALL…TO GIVE HIM GLORY!

MAGNIFIES? TELESCOPE. MAKE HIM BIGGER. BRING HIM INTO CLEAR VIEW THAT’S THE BROADER CALL.

CONCLUSION:

A SONG OF REJOICING. WHAT DO WE DO WHILE WE WAIT? WE REJOICE! INTERESTING. MARY REJOICES THAT GOD IS ON THE MOVE. THAT GOD IS WORKING. POPULAR IN SCRIPTURE: WHEN GOD MOVES AND DELIVERS THE PEOPLE THROUGH THE RED SEA RESCUING THEM FROM THE EGYPTIANS THEY DON’T JUST GO ON WITH BUSINESS AS USUAL. MOSES COMPOSES A SONG IN , AND HIS SISTER MIRIAM BREAKS OUT THE TAMBOURINE AND THEY REJOICE BECAUSE AFTER WAITING SO LONG GOD SHOWED UP AND GOT THEM THROUGH. WHEN THE PROPHETESS DEBORAH EXPERIENCES A MIGHTY WORKING OF GOD WHERE THEY WON THE BATTLE THEY DON’T JUST SIT BY AS IF NOTHING HAPPENS, THEY BREAK OUT IN SONG AND DANCE IN AND REJOICE. AFTER YEARS OF WAITING ON GOD TO HAVE A BABY WHILE BEING TAUNTED, HANNAH FINALLY GETS THE BABY AND SHE DOESN’T JUST GOLF CLAP GOD. NO IN I SAMUEL TWO SHE STOPS AND REJOICES.

APPLICATION: WHEN GOD SHOWS UP AND YOU SEE HIM WORKING YOU NEED TO STOP EVERYTHING AND REJOICE. WHEN YOU’VE SEEN HIM WORK OUT THE HEALTH CRISIS YOU OUGHT TO REJOICE. WHEN YOU’VE SEEN HIM GET YOU THROUGH COLLEGE, YOU NEED TO REJOICE. WHEN THE BABY COMES, REJOICE. WHEN THE JOB COMES, REJOICE. WHEN THE MARRIAGE HAS THE BREAKTHROUGH, REJOICE.

BUT MARY IS RARE, SHE REJOICES ON CREDIT. THE BABY HASN’T BEEN BIRTHED YET. BUT SHE’S NOT WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS TO REJOICE, SHE’S REJOICING SIX MONTHS EARLY. I WONDER IF THERE’S ANYONE WHO WILL PRAISE GOD ON CREDIT! IF ANYONE IS BOLD ENOUGH TO PRAISE HIM BEFORE THE BREAKTHROUGH. PRAISE HIM WHILE BEING UNEMPLOYED. PRAISE HIM WHILE BEING BROKE.