Sermon for 12/20/20 19 Minutes
Notes
Transcript
4th Sunday of Advent
4th Sunday of Advent
Good morning everyone,,, watching by video.
Praying that everyone is having a wonderful week,,,
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Before I begin with my sermon,,, I wanted to begin this morning with an opening prayer and lead into the Lord's prayer like we usually begin our worship service. That way if you like,,, you can join me in saying the Lord's prayer.
Invocation and Lord's prayer
Dear Lord, I thank you for your continued presence among us today and every day. I thank you for our healthcare workers who continue to work tirelessly! I thank you for those that are listening and watching by video. I ask for continued guidance for them and others. So we ask for healing for all of those that are sick this morning,,, we pray for all of those on our prayer list and even any needs that weren't mentioned,,, we continue to ask for safety and guidance for our healthcare workers. We ask for healing from all of these events that are dividing and hurting our great nation,,, and
We ask these things in Jesus's name who taught us to pray, by saying:
Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever.
Amen.
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This morning I'll be reading Luke chapter 1 verses 26 through 38.
And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Luke 1:26-38
This is the 4th Sunday of Advent and as we find ourselves still waiting for Christmas Day,,, we want to be sure that we live our lives in obedience to God,,, just as Mary,,, the mother of Jesus was,,, even though she was at such a young age at that time,,, and not married yet.
Luke 1:26–38
26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name 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 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end. 34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” 35 The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 “I am the Lord’s slave,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.
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As we enter our 4th week of Advent,,, we have lit all four candles looking forward to and anticipating the celebration of the birth of our Savior,,, and also the second coming of our Lord.
We have the words of Luke today to help us to remember the way that Mary shows us the way to live in obedience to God even when we don't understand everything that we think we need to know.
So lets look at these verses this morning and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.
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Verses 26 and 27 say: 26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
The angel Gabriel has reappeared,,, to a virgin named Mary,,, after his appearance to Zacharias and,,, of course,,, his wife Elizabeth is now in her 6th month of pregnancy.
Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph,,, a direct descendant of David,,, who inherited legal rights to the throne of David,,, even though he himself was a carpenter.
This Bible translation uses engaged,,, but this was considered a much more binding contract in that day and time,,, than an engagement is today.
In fact, it could be broken only by a legal decree,,, similar to a divorce,,, and any unfaithfulness could be punishable by death.
That's why the words the angel told her,,, in verses 31 through 33 that we will look at in a minute,,, should have been troubling to her.
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Verse 28 says: 28 And the angel came to her and said, “Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.”
I want to spend just a few minutes on this first part of the sentence that Gabriel says to Mary.
I know from the next verse that the words from the angel were troubling,,, but I'm sure that it was just the way it was delivered,,, not necessarily the words themselves.
I mean,,, how much more of a special meaning can you get from any one?
Mary apparently has lived her life with the intentions of doing the right thing all of the time,,, even though I'm sure that she fell short as all of us do.
But it was enough that God has chosen her to bring Jesus into the world and that must have been something to think about later,,, as Mary was prone to do.
But,,, this wasn't the greatest favor God bestowed on Mary,,, and I read this from an article written by Jon Bloom on the Desiring God website.
Though he gave Mary a completely unique calling,,, the most important way God favored her is the same way he favors you and me and all his children.
This means that God’s favor on Mary was unmerited.
The grace he showed to her was of staggering proportions,,, and I’m not even referring to her calling as the mother of The Child.
The greatest blessing Mary received was,,, that her Child saved her from her "own" sins (Matthew 1:21) so that He could bring her to God (1 Peter 3:18) — the same blessing that is given to everyone who believes in Him (John 3:16).
That’s why Jesus directs our attention away from Mary,,, whom he loved,,, to his Word in Luke 11:28.
He wants our attention on the gospel he came to proclaim: the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23) to all who believe in him (1 John 5:13).
Mary’s vocational calling as the mother of Jesus was a great blessing,,, but it was nowhere near the blessing of having her sins paid for,,, by the fruit of her womb.
God was “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14) to Mary in a way no one else has experienced,,, and,,, in that way,,, she was,,, “blessed among women.”
But the most important way God dwelled with Mary,,, was the same as he dwells with all his children: which is through faith (Ephesians 3:17).
So as we ponder Mary’s experience this Christmas,,, let us join her relative,,, Elizabeth,,, and say of Mary: “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (Luke 1:45).
Because God’s greatest blessing is given to those who believe him.
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Verses 29 and 30 say: 29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her: Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
As I told you earlier,,, Mary was deeply troubled by this greeting,,, even though he again tells her that she has found favor with God.
Like the visit with Zachariah,,, a visit from an angel is not something that you see every day,,, and will make you wonder.
That's the way so many things are with God,,, we just don't know what to expect,,, or how to receive them.
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Verses 31 through 33 say: 31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name 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 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.
Gabriel did the same for Mary that he did for Zachariah,,, and that was to tell her the name of the child,,, which would be,,, Jesus.
Then he predicted 5 things about her Son,,,
He will be called Great.
He will be called the Son of the Most High
He will be given the throne as a descendent of David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
His kingdom will never end.
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Verses 34 through 36 say: 34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” 35 The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless.
Mary did not seem surprised at the message of the Messiah coming.
Instead,,, she was surprised that she would be His mother,,, especially,,, since she was a virgin.
That's why she said,,, since I have not been intimate with a man?”
But the angel did not rebuke Mary,,, as he had rebuked Zechariah,,, earlier in verse 20 of this chapter.
This indicates that Mary did not doubt the angel’s words,,, but just wanted to know,,, how such an event would be accomplished.
Of course,,, the answer was,,, that the Holy Spirit would creatively bring about the physical conception of Jesus.
This miraculous conception and Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ was necessary because of His deity and preexistence.
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Verse 37 says: 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Is there any need to say anything about this verse.
This verse says everything that we need to know about anything that God will be involved in,,, and for those of us that are Christians,,, it should be something that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Of course,,, there are times that we momentarily forget,,, and when that happens,,, hopefully we can think about this verse and Mary and what all of this means for our salvation and eternity,,, and that lapse in forgetfulness won't last too long!
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Verse 38 says: 38 “I am the Lord’s slave,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
To be the Lord's slave,,, Mary took the chance of being misunderstood by Joseph,,, which almost happened if you read Matthew 1:18–25,,, then the possible loss of her reputation,,, the curse of being considered a sinful woman,,, and to the possibility of death by stoning (Deut. 22:23–24).”
Remember what I said at the beginning that these events could be troubling to her because she was basically considered a married woman,,, even though she hasn't lived with Joseph yet.
But,,, there is no record of any hesitation,,, no excuses,,, no doubts,,, no more questions,,, just acceptance!
Just acceptance through her obedience to God!
That's why Mary was chosen as the mother of Jesus!
She was obedient!
What an example she can be for all of us today.
Not someone to worship,,, or pray to,,, but to model the way that we live our life in obedience to God when He asks us to do something that we know that He wants us to do,,, but we don't understand how it will be done!
That's what made Mary special,,, was obedience,,, and that's what we can all learn from her this morning.
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As we enter into our 4th week of Advent,,, Christmas is almost here.
The day that we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Hopefully these verses that we have studied this morning will help us in our walk with God as we wait in anticipation for that day,,, and the second coming of our Lord as well,,, and we will remember that obedience is one of the important things that set Mary apart from so many others,,, and the faithful way that she acted without questions.
And,,, hopefully,,, we can remember that we must be obedient as well,,, when God has given us something to do.
Just as He did when he sent the angel Gabriel,,, to tell Mary,,, that she would be the mother of our Savior,,, so many years ago,,, and she humbly accepted it as so,,, even though she didn't fully understand it,,, or how it would be done!
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