The Angel and Mary

12-01-2019

Welcome

This morning we will take a break from sitting on the side of a mountain

As we move into the Christmas Season this morning we will look at how it started

With Mary and Angel

We know that the story of Jesus actually started way back in Genesis and even before anything was created

This morning we will be in when the Angel of the Lord mets with Mary for the first time

Luke 1:26–28 NASB95

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

This is all to fulfill what God had said earlier.

This was not by chance.

This was the plan from before time to bring about Salvation to all the world

The place is important

Micah 5:2 NASB95

2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

Micah 5:1 NASB95

1 “Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us; With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.

God had chosen them along time before to be used of God

This isn’t by chance

It was prophesied long ago that God would use a virgin to bring about His Son and ultimately His salvation for all man kind

Isaiah 7:14 NASB95

14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

Again church this is not just something that happened this was Gods I tended plan to save the world

Understand it is through Jesus only that salvation happens, and this was how God was going to bring about Jesus to earth

Luke 1:28–30 NASB95

28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

The Angel shows up and says this

This is not a common things for the angels you read about in Scripture to say this to people they first encounter

It is normal for the angels to say do not be afraid

But this one says greetings favored one

This shocked Mary and caught her off guard

The angel does go on to say do not be afraid but to understand she was chosen to be used of God is the priority

This is was Gods plan even though it wasn’t normal or expected

Then angel goes on to give her the specifics of the plan from God

Luke 1:31–33 NASB95

31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”

Church she was to conceive a baby while being a virgin

That doesn’t happen apart from God

The angel says that This will be the Son of Most High God

This will be Gods own son

This young lady is chosen to be the mother of the Son of God

How cool is that

Church understand that if this is not true then the entire Bible is not true

This virgin birth weighs heavy on the Christian Doctrine

I would agree that once a believer is made aware that Jesus was born of a virgin and chooses to reject that, then I would call into question his own faith in Christ

Often times we call the virgin birth into question because it seems to be almost to much of a leap of faith

Church that is what is required to be a believer is a leap of faith

you and I are not the first ones to question the virgin birth

Luke 1:34–37 NASB95

34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

See Mary’s response was to question the Angel because it was scientifically an option to have a child and still be a virgin

The angel this goes on to give her some explanation as to why and what will happen

See church the virgin birth was a leap of faith for the virgin herself but that did not stop her

We understand that this is all happening to fulfill the prophecies about Jesus

This is all a leap of faith but it is a leap of faith towards truth

This just shows you how big of a God we believe in

This is not some random girl, this is not some random place, this is not something random at all

This was Gods plan put into action through obedient people taking a leap of faith

Luke 1:38 NASB95

38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary’s response says it all for us today church

Mary was obedient to the will of God

No matter how large of a leap of faith it was

Now church this doesn't mean that you can I can just chose to believe things because we want them no matter how crazy they are

Do you understand that this leap of faith is backed up by scripture

She was obedient

You and I are to be obedient to the will of God

No matter how much of a leap of faith it seems

No matter how unscientific it may seem

We are to simple be obedient

Church that looks like saying yes to God

Church that looks like believing without always seeing

Church that looks like believing God will provide a way for you and giving you the necessary skills to complete the job

God does not always call the equipped but He does always equip the called of God

This morning church as the band comes forward

I want to challenge you to take a leap of faith this morning

Maybe you are here today and you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus

That would require a leap of faith for you today, but we want to invite you to do that and we will have people down front to show you how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus

Or maybe you are a believer and you know God is calling you to do something

Maybe it is something outside of your comfort zone

Or maybe you are sure what it is would you say yes this morning to Jesus

Would you take that leap of faith

the altar is open