An Expression of Love to All (2)

God Is With Us Through all the uncertainties of Life.

Luke 1:26–29 NKJV

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

As we begin the scripture let us take a moment and understand the timing and the setting and the situation of Mary.

It was the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy not the sixth month of the year.

The town of Nazareth was so insignificant that it is not even mentioned in contemporary resources today outside of the Bible.

Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph.

Think about this, Mary was a virgin that was engaged to a man named Joseph that was a carpenter in a town that was so insignificant that it was an after thought. This is the setting of this great announcement.

Out of nowhere the angel Gabriel greets Mary. Think about her situation and setting that she was in and trying to figure out what this greeting was all about.

When we are greeted with things that do not make sense to us it makes us wonder what in the world is all of this about. Why am I in this situation at this point in my life.

Let’s go back to the beginning of 2020. We were greeted with all kinds of things in our country. We were greeted with civil unrest and then out of the blue there was a pandemic. For some of us these issues became personal and impacted our own personal lives. And we sit and look around and wonder what in the world is going on.

I was thinking. What if we slowed down and stopped worrying about what is going on and realized who is accompanying us through these uncertain times.

I think Mary in the beginning overlooked the greeting and to the “what and why mode” just like we do instead of hearing the most important part of the greeting. The Lord Is With You.

The Lord God shows His Love through His presence in our lives.

God is with us, now let’s look at how He helps us handle the unknowns in our lives.

God Gives Us Comfort through all the unknowns of life.

Luke 1:30–35 NKJV

Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give 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.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

The angel tells her to not be afraid, you have found grace with God. Unmerited favor. She had not done anything to gain this favor. It was God’s unmerited favor.

The angel tells her that she is going to conceive a child. Mary’s reply, how can I this be. I do not know a man. At this point the angel tells her how all of this will take place.

Mary was concerned about all of the unknowns that was before her.

Many of us here today are concerned about the unknowns that lie ahead. How are the new vaccines for covid going to work? What is 2021 going to look like? What about going to work and maybe even a job? The list could go on and on about the things that we do not know about tomorrow.

How many of you remember New Year’s Eve 1999? There were questions about the unknown. Will my computer crash? Is the world going to end? What will the beginning of a new century look like? In other words we were all sitting and worried about the unknowns when the clock struck midnight.

What did the angel tell Mary, “Don’t be Afraid.”

God wants us to live a life that will be full. We can’t do that if we are always up in the air over the unknowns in life. Let these words comfort you, just as they comforted Mary. “Don’t Be Afraid.”

God comforts us because He loves Us.

God gives us confidence in our journey through life.

Luke 1:36–37 NKJV

Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

The Angel wants Mary to know that she has a relative that has conceived a son. This relative named Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant and had been labeled barren and never have children. And then tells her, “with God nothing is impossible.”

God wanted Mary to know something. He wanted her to know that He had the whole situation under control. Even though it seemed impossible.

I am sure that many of us have witnessed something that we thought was impossible. But as I witnessed that certain thing in my life and saw that it was possible it gave me confidence.

Overcoming obstacles

In the Bible there is “David and Goliath.” Abraham and Sara, The birth of Christ, The birth of John the Baptist.

In modern times there have been books and movies made about people overcoming obstacles to achieve great things. I remember watching the movie “Rudy.” Of how a guy walked on to the Notre Dame football team and became a hero. It was a movie that was about something that seemed impossible but became possible.

God wants us to know that He loves us so much that if we put our trust in Him that anything is possible.

Conclusion:

Luke 1:38 NKJV

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary in the final verse of this scripture tells us how to tell God that we Love Him Back. “I am the servant of the Lord, Let this happen to me.”

In other words, she said, “I will do what you ask, I will trust you with the uncertainty, the unknowns, because you can make the impossible possible.”

What is your response to the Love God has shown you today?