The People of the Promise (Part 2)

We went back to to see that Christmas is about a world broken by our selfish, sinful choice. We saw from that passage and from that Christmas is about a promise God made to send someone, a Messiah, to set the world right.

Last week, we started examining some of the people who would be involved in God fulfilling that promise as we saw a man named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. They were given a child who would prepare people’s hearts for the Messiah who was to come.

From their example, we saw what it looks like for us to be faithful servants of God.

This morning, we are moving to the woman God used to actually carry and birth the Messiah.

She is the woman who had the privilege of actually being Jesus’ mom. The God who created the stars was knit together with flesh in the womb of this amazing young woman.

We are starting in , so go ahead and turn over there.

Her reaction to these events shows how incredible she was, and for us, it is going to leave us with a great example of how to respond when God calls us to be a part of what he is doing.

In fact, if you could sum it up in one word, I would use the word “humble.”

Although she has often been elevated to a position God never intended her to hold, we would be just as wrong if we didn’t acknowledge the incredible humility of this woman.

Called to do the impossible and faced with an incredible challenge, Mary humbly submits herself to God’s plan.

As she does, she gets to see God move in a way no one else in history has ever seen.

She truly is unique in what God called her to do, but her heart of humility is something we should all aspire to reflect.

As we watch how she responds to what God is calling her to do, we are going to see that Christmas is all about humility.

Humility is one of those words we use in church but may not really understand, so let’s define it for a few minutes before we look at Mary’s example.

Remember, this builds on our look at Elijah’s life.

How many of you are familiar with a song by Mac Davis called, “It’s Hard to Be Humble”?

The edited version of the chorus goes something like this:

This Fall, God keeps reminding us that He does His greatest work through ordinary people.

We saw it with Elijah in October and November. Now, we are seeing it play out in the ordinary men and women who God used to bring His Son into the world.

Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble When you're perfect in every way I can't wait to look in the mirror 'Cause I get better lookin' each day To know me is to love me I must be one incredible man Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble But I'm doin' the best that I can

We started our look at these characters last week as we examined the life of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.

So far, we have gone back to to find that Christmas is all about a world that has been broken by sin. Sin is anything we do or think that goes against who God is and what he expects of us.

Feel free to elbow your spouse if you think they like to sing this song!

We used one key word to describe him: Zacharias was faithful.

We saw Zacharias faithful to serve the Lord despite disappointments, faithful to grow despite failures, and faithful to obey despite opposition.

Even when we broke the world through our sin, God gave the hint of a promise that he would one day set the world right again.

Hopefully, you have seen the Lord work in your heart this week to help you obey, grow, and serve Him more faithfully.

Last week, we saw that in greater detail as we saw how God explained that promise in . We saw that Christmas is about God sending a person who would be God in the flesh, wise beyond compare. He would bring in peace like the world hasn’t known since we pushed God away all the way back at the beginning.

Faithfulness to the Lord requires another key character trait, and it is one we see in perhaps the most famous character in the Christmas story.

This morning, we are fast-forwarding 700 years ahead of last week’s passage. In the passage we are picking up with today, the time has come for the promise to be fulfilled.

As we will see over the next two weeks, though, God is going to use some incredibly special people to bring his promise to fruition on earth.

We are going to take the next two weeks and examine these sections in the lives of the man and woman God called to serve as Jesus’ earthly parents.

We are starting in , so go ahead and turn over there.

We turn our attention to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as we turn in our Bibles back to …

Her reaction to these events shows how incredible she was, and for us, it is going to leave us with a great example of how to respond when God calls us to be a part of what he is doing.

In the passage we will read, she is going to find out that she is going to carry the Messiah, the baby that God has promised to the world.

Her reaction to these events shows how incredible she was, and for us, it is going to leave us with a great example of how to respond when God calls us to be a part of what he is doing.

In fact, if you could sum it up in one word, I would use the word “humble.”

In keeping with our pattern, we are going to use one word to describe Mary today: Mary is humble.

Although she has often been elevated to a position God never intended her to hold, we would be just as wrong if we didn’t acknowledge the incredible humility of this woman.

Called to do the impossible and faced with an incredible challenge, Mary humbly submits herself to God’s plan.

As she does, she gets to see God move in a way no one else in history has ever seen.

She truly is unique in what God called her to do, but her heart of humility is something we should all aspire to reflect.

As we watch how she responds to what God is calling her to do, we are going to see that Christmas is all about humility.

We are going to see four different ways her humility played in this passage.

Some in our world think that humility is about weakness. They would say that you shouldn’t focus on being humble; instead, if you want to get ahead, you need to let the world know how awesome you are. Build your platform and make a difference because you are awesome.

Humble people are viewed as weak, and the world will forget them.

Others believe humility is simply groveling around in the dirt and telling everyone how terrible and worthless you are.

True, biblical humility isn’t either of those. Instead of weakness, it is the strength to see yourself as you really are. It is the understanding that apart from God, I can’t do anything of any eternal value. However, in Christ, I have been loved, saved, called, gifted, and equipped by the incredible God of the universe to serve Him in unimaginable ways.

It is understanding what Tim Keller has said:

“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

(Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage)

When we understand that, we become so grateful to God for what he has done, not proud and arrogant in who we are.

Mary is going to demonstrate this in the way she responds to what the angel Gabriel has to tell her. She is going to model humility for us in at least four different ways.

Pick up with me in .

The way we continually talk about our own inability is an insult to the Creator. The deploring of our own incompetence is a slander against God for having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining in the sight of God the things that sound humble before men, and you will be amazed at how staggeringly impertinent they are. [1]

The first way we see humble servants respond is...

Let’s see how humble Mary’s encounter with an angel went. Pick up with me in .

1) Humble servants are prepared.

()

Look with me at how the angel greets Mary in verse 28…

What did the angel tell her? “Mary, you are going to find favor with God when you do this?”

That’s not what he said, is it? Rather, he said, “Mary, you have already found favor with God.”

Isn’t that interesting? You see, Mary had already been prepared for what God wanted to do through her.

It wasn’t because of Mary’s obedience, although that allowed her to be in a position to be used. She found favor with God because God, in His grace, chose and prepared her for this moment.

Do you think she was the only young virgin God could have used? Do you think she was the only girl who trusted God?

Why her?

Because God chose her!

Listen: God has saved you and is calling you to serve Him in a unique way. He has prepared you for what He is calling you to do!

We have looked at the study Experienging God before. In that study, the author mentions that what God does next in your life is always in line with what He has already been doing up to that point.

That’s why, in the face of an incredible task, Mary could stand…He had prepared her throughout her whole life.

As a little girl, when Mary learned to obey by submitting to her parents, God was shaping her.

As a young girl whose heart was broken by a young boy, God was shaping her.

All the times she stood for what was right when her friends were doing wrong, God was molding her into this incredible young woman who would carry his Son, even though it would be one of the most difficult tasks imaginable.

Did you know that the same God who prepared Mary for what was ahead for her has been preparing you?

He knows from before you are born what your days will be like! He knows His plan for you from the very start:

Psalm 139:16 CSB

Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.

He knew what was planned for every day of your life before you took your first breath!

He had all that in motion from the very beginning.

As He has worked in your life, he has been preparing you for what He wants you to do and shaping you into who He wants you to be!

This is a lifelong process, and he will finish it, by the way:

Philippians 1:6 CSB

I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. (, NASB95)

God isn’t going to give up what he has been doing. He is going to see it through all the way to completion.—God has been preparing you and will continue to do so!

Some of you, like Mary, have responded to His plan. You have followed where He has lead you and developed you, and so you are ready for what’s next.

Others of you are like the Apostle Paul, who had been fighting what God was trying to tell him. That’s why, when God spoke to him and drew Paul to Himself, He said,

“And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” (, NASB95)

Acts 26:14 CSB

We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

Goads were long pointy poles that people would use to poke and prod an ox when it was being stubborn and wouldn’t plow right.

Some of you are kicking and screaming, fighting what God wants you to do. You think it will cost too much, be too painful, ruin your fun, yet God desires to use you in an incredible way if you will let him.

Part of his plan included you being here this morning to hear this challenge.

His humble servants have been prepared whether they realize it or not!

When God suddenly calls you to a task that is insurmountable, remember that it’s because He has made you up to it and is able to carry you through it.

Isn’t that what we saw with Moses a few months ago? God called him to go back and confront Pharaoh, and Moses was convinced he couldn’t do it.

God reminded him that it wasn’t about Moses’ ability, because God was the one who was going to do it all.

Moses fumbled the ball there because he was too concerned over what he could do tha

Humility doesn’t say, “I can’t;” in fact, that is the voice of pride. Humility says, “God has brought me this far, and it is awesome to see what he is going to do next.”

Not only are humble servants prepared, they are…

2) Humble servants are pure.

()

Pick back up in verse 31-34.

The angel has some incredible news for her—she is going to have a baby in a miraculous way.

As the angel lays out what God is doing, you notice that a key aspect of God’s plan for Mary was that she stay sexually pure.

Mary had kept herself pure, saving herself for the man that God would bring into her life, and that she had kept herself pure when she found him (since we already saw they were engaged).

She was keeping herself pure, and that allowed her to be used of God in the way she was.

If you are here and you are not married, guard your purity well. It is a tremendous gift that you do not want to sacrifice, no matter how much pressure you are under.

If this is a sinful area in your past, know that there is forgiveness. God loves you and still has incredible plans for your life. You are no less valuable to Him than anyone in this room. However, your decision will cause you problems that God wanted you to avoid.

By the way, the admonition to stay pure goes beyond just the area of sexual purity. God desires that purity to show itself in every single aspect of life.

Our culture doesn’t like the idea of being told what to do, so we have a tendency to gloss over the commands of Scripture, acting like they are old fashioned and out of date.

Listen: humility says, “God, you know best. If you tell me that I am supposed to do this or not do that, I will honor you with that.”

One of those commands is that we live holy lives, and God Himself is the standard:

1 Peter 1:14–16 CSB

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (, NASB95)

We are called to put off living life like everyone around us and instead live like Christ would live.

Being a humble servant of His means striving for purity.

None of us are perfect, but we are moving that way. Because of what He has done for us, we love Him and try to be like Him, because He is good!

Humble servants are ready and pure. It doesn’t stop there, though. Humble servants…

3) Humble servants believe.

()

The next attribute we see from Mary’s life is her unwavering faith.

She asks a legitimate question in verse 34, but the response is incredible!

Look at verse 35. God is going to do something that is humanly impossible.

When Gabriel responds in verse 35, he mentions Elizabeth, who we looked at last week.

In fact, if you

He uses Elizabeth’s pregnancy as a confirmation of what God could do. We could almost explain Elizabeth’s pregnancy away, but there is no way for a woman who has never been intimate with a man to get pregnant. It’s impossible!

If you look back at verse 18, you see Zechariah asking what seems like a similar question.

In fact, Luke has included some details to help us see something interesting.

If you look back at verse 18, you see Zechariah asking what seems like a similar question to what Mary asks about in verse 35.

They were both past the age of having children, but God gave them a child.

However, Zechariah gets rebuked for asking Gabriel how it was going to happen, but Mary doesn’t. Why?

If you were to go back a few verses, you would see one of her relatives, a man named Zechariah, get rebuked for a question like that.

There is a subtle difference. Zechariah asks, “How will I know?,” where Mary asks, “How will this be?”

Mary is simply wondering how God is actually accomplish what he said he would, where Zechariah is asking for confirmation that this is really going to happen.

Zechariah’s response shows that he is doubting whether or not God can do this, where Mary is just wondering about how he will.

Do you see what God is doing here? He is setting the stage for what is to come in the rest of Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Over and over, you will see that ordinary people understood who Jesus was and what he was doing, and the religious leaders missed it.

Here, Zechariah is an older priest who is actively serving in the temple and doesn’t trust what the angel says. Mary is a teenage girl, and she believes better than the priest does!

You see that in the way she responds.

It seems, then, that hers was a legitimate question of “How is this going to work,” not, “Can God do this?”

Look at verse 35 again…

What Gabriel said is completely impossible, humanly speaking!

They were both past the age of having children, but God gave them a child.

What is Mary’s response to his announcement?

She doesn’t say, “Gabriel, thanks for stopping by, but obviously, you have lost it. Come back to me when you have something to tell me that actually makes sense.”

No; she took God at his word…she simply said, “Okay. If you say so, then I believe.”

How would you have responded? Do you struggle with responding like that to God?

Why don’t we believe what God says? What Gabriel said is still true – “for nothing will be impossible with God.”

That doesn’t mean that things are always going to work out like you want them. God isn’t a cosmic Santa Claus who is going to give you whatever you wan if you have been good.

It means that nothing can keep God from doing what he says he will do.

That includes what he says he will do in and through us.

There is nothing that God could call you to do that is impossible for Him. Do you believe that?

God has already done the most impossible thing you would ever need Him to do by saving you from your sin! He took your death upon Himself, He rescued and ransomed you.

Everything else is easy in comparison to rescuing you from your sin!

If you are going to be His humble servant, you must have that kind of faith; the kind that believes He is capable of doing the impossible.

Isn’t that a key component of our guiding verse as a church?

1 Timothy 1:5 CSB

Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (, NASB95)

We believe God has called us to radically love Him and others while maintaining a sincere faith that believes He is able to do the impossible.

If you don’t believe He can do it, then you won’t follow Him to see Him do what only He can, and you will miss out on some of the greatest blessings you could imagine.

We have seen that humble servants, like Mary and many before and after her are ready, pure, and believe that He can do what He says.

The fourth character trait I want us to see from Mary’s life this morning is…

4) Humble servants praise.

()

Mary leaves from her house and goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is carrying the baby John we talked about last week.

When she gets there, she offers up a tremendous song of praise.

Read verses 46ff with me.

What, or should I say who, is the focus of Mary’s song?

She references God in at least 15 times in ten verses.

Humble servants of God have a keen awareness of who is really accomplishing the work. That leads them to live lives of praise, giving God the glory for what He can do as opposed to what they could do.

Isn’t this what we said we were commanded to do in that we looked at a few weeks ago? To publicly praise the one true God who always does what is right and whose loving faithfulness never ceases?

It is God that does the incredible work. It was God who prepared Mary, who equipped her to stay pure, who demonstrated Himself to her to strengthen her faith, so it was God whom she praised and gave credit to!

Do you see the progression? As He prepares you, you grow closer to Him in how you live your life. As you grow, you learn to trust Him more and believe Him more. As you believe Him, you see Him do things only He can accomplish, leading you to praise Him in greater ways for what He has done.

Mary was a humble servant, but we still see times where she made mistakes. She misunderstood who Jesus was and what he was called to do.

The baby she would give birth to, however, was the perfect example of humility.

As we saw two weeks ago when we referenced , he humbled himself by taking on flesh.

Although he was God in the flesh, he died in our place to give us life that we couldn’t have deserved.

[1] Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI: Oswald Chambers Publications; Marshall Pickering, 1986. Print.

He was humiliated to be born to a little known teenage girl, and his birth was shrouded in rumors and gossip.

He humbled himself by allowing himself to be accused wrongly without destroying his enemies, which he could easily have done.

Ultimately, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross.

What is Christmas all about? It is about a broken world and an incredible promise that would be fulfilled through humble servants of God.

Related Media

Related Sermons