Week 4 of Advent
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The Gift is Christ in His Fullness!
The Gift is Christ in His Fullness!
INTRODUCTION
The Lord has made Himself know to most of you if not all. Not only has He made Himself known to you, but he has chosen you! During this time of year we get to reflect on the prophecies that have come true and also the ones which have yet to happened. The focus during Christmas and all year should be on the finished work of Christ. The birth, the life, the death and the resurrection of the One who came to save. Christmas has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him. As we read the Word of God listen and see how He loves us and how He chooses us and He picks unlikely people. When He chooses us we get to see His promises come to be and in those promises we see transformation and others see transformation in us. What a gift! How can we ask for more? In Him we receive favor or blessings. We will read and see how Mary received favor from God and can know that we have received favor.
Let’s pray!
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.” 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. 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.” 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.” 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.
1. The gift of Christ is no accident, but part of His plan.
Verse 26-27 Read again
Speaks of the 6th month which refers to the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Elizabeth was Mary’s cousin and she was pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary was engaged to Joseph who was a decedent of King David and she was a virgin. All of this was part of God’s plan. David was a root or a descendant of Jesse and from the blood line of David came Jesus as Isaiah prophesied about in Isaiah 11:10
Jesus when He was born was all man and at the same time all God which is a concept hard for us as humans to understand.
A virgin birth was prophesied about in Isaiah 7:14
God established or made a time for his promises and a time for their fulfillment.
The time for promises was in the time of the prophets, until John the Baptist; from John until the end of life on earth is the time of fulfillment. When these promises will happen
God, who is faithful, has promised us so much.
He has promised us eternal salvation, everlasting joy, an inheritance, endless glory, his holy dwelling in heaven, and after the resurrection from the dead no further fear of dying. This is his final promise, the goal of all our striving or persevering. When we reach it, we shall ask for nothing more.
He has given mortal men immortality, sinners justification, and the poor richness in Him.
This was not by accident , but was God’s plan. It’s all part of His promise and in this promise we are forever changed and not only changed but made new and transformed like Elizabeth, Mary, Paul and all others who had faith and believed.
We must truly receive the gift of Christ this Christmas and look past the traditions and stories we have heard over our lifetime. Look to Christ and find true life in Him! Christmas is more than gifts, food, family, Christmas tree’s and lights. He is everything to those who believe.
2. The gift of God’s favor is to be valued and treasured.
Verse 28-30 Read again
The angel Gabriel greets Mary as favored one.
To be favored means approved by God or accepted by God. To be favored means that the grace of God had been given to Mary and to us as well.
She was a humble woman and to be greeted like this was not something she expected to hear from an angel sent by God. She was thinking to herself how can this be? I imagine her thinking to herself are you sure you have the right Mary?
This favor we to have received is something we don’t deserve or earn but it’s a gift from above and it comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ.
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
There is no greater gift and no amount of works or money can buy it. This gift is to be treasured and valued above all other things.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s free for us because Christ paid the price for us to receive it! Just because it cost us nothing does not mean we shouldn’t value it because it cost Jesus everything.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
It’s clear from the scriptures that this favor or grace that we receive and that Mary received though it cost Mary and us nothing , it is to be valued and treasured more than anything else.
3. The gift of Christ is not to be feared but revered
Verse 30
Too often we fear God. Mary was comforted by the angel when he said do not fear. In other words Gabriel was saying don’t run away just believe the words that I have been sent to tell you. Just stay and stand in awe of what you are hearing and trust in what the Lord is saying.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.
What a gift we have received in Christ not of fear but reverence. It’s in this reverence that we stand in and then we gain wisdom and knowledge.
10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
In reverence we can know that God is with us, He will strengthen us, He will help us, and He shares His righteousness with us. In Him we are made righteous.
28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
In reverence we stand and do not fear judgement because we have been justified in Jesus Christ.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
In reverence we do not run away but we stand confidently because we have been adopted and made one with Him. Don’t run away in fear but instead run to Him because you now know how you need Him and that He has chosen you.
4. The gift of Christ is to be trusted.
Verses 31-38 Read again
What Mary hears from the angel Gabriel is hard for her to believe. We know all these things to be true and trusted from what we learn from the prophecies in the Old Testament, but imagine being Mary and hearing these things for the 1st time.
You will conceive a son while still being a virgin!
You will name Him Jesus which means Savior!
He will be great and He will be called the Son of the Most High!
The Lord God will give Him the throne!
He will reign forever and His kingdom will have no end!
27 But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.”
What is impossible in our eyes or in thoughts is possible with God!
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Don’t doubt but trust in the One who strengthens us.
27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”
The trials we face may seem impossible but for God nothing is too difficult.
In verse 34 Mary questions what is humanly impossible to give birth and still be a virgin.
The angel Gabriel tells Mary she will be giving birth to the Son of God not a new creation but God who has always existed.
The angel Gabriel continues to comfort Mary and says in
Verse 37
For nothing will be impossible with God.
The Word of God can be trusted
In verse 38 we see that Mary in her doubt of the impossible she trusted that it was possible for God to do what He said “according to your word”
In closing
From what we see in the Word of God we can see that Christ is the best gift one can receive this Christmas or anytime of the year and it’s more that the birth of Christ we celebrate but the fullness of what Christ has given to us. In Him we have salvation, justification, hope, joy, peace, restoration, and everlasting life.
1. The gift of Christ is no accident, but part of His plan.
Know that you are part of His plan.
2. The gift of God’s favor is to be valued and treasured.
Value that you have received favor from God and care for that gift from above.
3. The gift of Christ is not to be feared but revered
Don’t fear God in a way that you run from Him, but stand in awe and reverence of Him.
4. The gift of Christ is to be trusted.
In life you may learn you can’t trust in anyone but Christ can and should be trusted.
Let’s pray.