The Faith of Mary: Moving Forward When Everything Else Seems to be Going Backwards
More than a Holiday • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsGod calls us to grow and to participate in His plan. His plan came forth unexpectedly. Mary was not ready to be a mom; for goodness sake, she was not even prepared to be a wife yet! But God saw her heart, saw her disposition and willingness and chose her to bring forth the plan just at the right time. The plan that was hidden from the very beginning of time: His plan of salvation. In this message I invite you to grasp three personality traits we find in Mary when we face life's interruptions.
Notes
Transcript
Mary, a Model of Faith
Mary, a Model of Faith
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Today, I would like to invite you to look at Mary as a model of faith. God has a plan with your life, and, as He did with Mary over 2,000 years ago, He wants you to humbly surrender your will to Him today. He is calling you to a total devotion and obedience of his voice. He is calling you to embrace the unexpected.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.
The passage from the Gospel of Luke is the account of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary of God’s greatest miracle: The incarnation of Jesus Christ, this is, God, becoming flesh.
In his book “Miracles,” C.S. Lewis stated that the incarnation is to be considered “the central miracle asserted by Christians.” To him, this was “the central event in the history of the Earth.” (Miracles, chapter 14).
The incarnation is to be considered “the central miracle asserted by Christians.” To C.S. Lewis, this was “the central event in the history of the Earth.” (Miracles, chapter 14).
The incarnation is to be considered “the central miracle asserted by Christians.” To C.S. Lewis, this was “the central event in the history of the Earth.” (Miracles, chapter 14).
The first person to hear about the execution of this plan was a young woman called Mary. The messenger was no other than Gabriel, the same archangel that visited Daniel in Babylon in the OT.
It was a day like any other in Palestine. Mary, an ordinary first-century Jewish teenager, was quietly at her parent’s house when suddenly she receives an angelic visitation. Gabriel had come to her to announce God’s extraordinary call for her life. She will be the mother of Jesus. She will receive the call of raising the very Son of God. This encounter changed Mary for the rest of her life.
After receiving and agreeing to Gabriel’s announcement, Mary responded faithfully to God’s call and began a journey: to become the mother of Jesus, but also to become his disciple.
Mary is the only person who ever faced the transition from mother of God to child of God.
Mary is the only person who ever faced the transition from mother of God to child of God.
Mary is the only person who ever faced the transition from mother of God to child of God.
Her journey takes us to think about our own journey with God.
The life of faith is made up of a series of steps that bring us closer to the fulfillment of God’s will, but not necessarily farther from the challenges and struggles involved with moving ahead.
No doubts, 2020 has been the year of the unexpected. None of us ended 2019 thinking, “well, I better hurry and go to Costco to get toilet paper to be prepared for the upcoming pandemic.” We were not ready for this. That’s for sure.
Anyhow, as Christians, we should know that to follow Christ and to carry out his plan requires embracing the unexpected. In other words, moving forward in faith when everything seems to go backwards.
Let us grasp today three character that will help us grow in faith when facing the unexpected interruptions of life.
Rather than allowing fear to overcome her, Mary displayed great courage and faith as she humbly embraced her role as “the servant of the Lord.” (v. 38, 48, 52).
She responded to God’s call with humility, surrender, obedience and praise.
Mary’s Three Personality Traits That We Need to Imitate to Move Forward
Mary’s Three Personality Traits That We Need to Imitate to Move Forward
Humility
Humility
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.
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
Contrary to the idea of the Greek philosophical virtues during the apostles’ times, humbleness is deemed in the Bible as a strength and a requirement for those who live by faith (Jas. 4:10; 1 Pet. 5:6).
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
When called to step out onto the path of extraordinary faith, Mary showed herself to be sensible and attentive to God’s voice and humble and courageous.
One of the characteristics of being a faith-person is the common leaning towards moving forward even when we haven’t figure everything out yet.
This passage also shows us that it is normal to be scared (Mary was “greatly troubled” at Gabriel’s announcement; Luke 1:29).
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
But even scared, Mary didn’t panic, and she didn’t quit. She practiced the ancient Torah commandment of listening and obeying God’s will (Deut. 6:4-5).
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Surrender & Obedience
Surrender & Obedience
The second character trait we need to imitate from Mary is her disposition to surrender her plans before God’s greatest plan and obey Him.
She had to let go of her plans of living a normal family life to accept the idea of raising no other than the Son of God. She maybe even thought that this could mean rising Jesus alone as a single mom.
This must have been difficult for Mary since, in Luke, she is portrayed as a thinker.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
Her heart was probably filled with doubts and anxiety. In spite of that, she surrendered herself (body, soul and spirit) to God’s will and to his Word.
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.
However, when Mary interrupts Gabriel, she poses a very practical question: How could she, a virgin, become pregnant? The only obstacle Mary sees to the plan is the fact that she has not “known” a man.
All this situation of her being pregnant was not planned at all, despite having been planned by God since the beginning of time.
Nevertheless, Mary doesn’t run away from the angel. She doesn’t try to find excuses to escape the call she was given. She agreed to the announcement and humbly accepted God’s will.
For that, she had to surrender control of all this situation and take the Lord at his Word. God was overturning the natural laws to bring forth the miracle. That’s the kind of faith He is looking for in us.
She trusted the Word of God. She put her trust in God’s promises.
For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Now her response to God’s call was not only obedience but also praise.
Praise
Praise
Mary’s faith is expressed in her song in Luke 1:46-55, also called The Magnificat.
And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
In this song, Mary:
Declares her trust in God as her Lord and Savior.
She recognized herself as a “humble servant.”
She believes God will restore her reputation (“from now on all generations will call me blessed”).
She recognizes that God has done great things for her.
She recognizes God’s mercy and strength.
She believes in God as the one who exalts those of humble estate.
She remarks on God’s compassion for those who are afflicted.
She deeply knows that God is faithful to his promises.
God is calling us to make a song of praise out of our brokenness and recognition of His salvation.
God is calling us to make a song of praise out of our brokenness and recognition of His salvation.
God is calling us to make a song of praise out of our brokenness and recognition of His salvation.
Mary weighed more about God’s promises than her life’s problems.
She took risks and moved forward with God’s plan.
She listened and obeyed God’s voice, even when not fully understanding how all this may come to pass.
For all this, she is an example of humility, faith, courage, and obedience to all of us.
We know first-hand that this year has been difficult. God knows it too. In the midst of all 2020’s life interruptions, God wants us to surrender all before Him and praise Him. He wants you to trust Him. We need to praise Him.
Let us fill our hearts with faith today. God wants us to grow in humility, surrender, obedience and praise at all times.
Let us praise His Name today and forevermore as we move forward and beyond limitations, knowing that nothing is impossible for God.