Gtcotr/ss121221
The Christmas Story is an account of divine beginnings, or as one put it … the Dispensation of Divine Purpose. Luke’s well-researched, Holy Spirit inspired record of the Conception of Christ provides great insight into how God chooses and uses rather ordinary men and women to bring birth to and care for His divine plan of salvation. After reading the Christmas Story, it should not surprise us to know that God has a plan, He will succeed, and that He has given us a chance to participate.
Even with something so crucial to His plan as the birth of His only begotten Son, God does not force or coerce people to cooperate with Him, He simply offers them an opportunity. I am amazed that God entrusted His single plan for the salvation of mankind to a young unproven girl named Mary.
This morning we are going to read about the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and discover how this account is meant to impact us and our lives today. Let’s read the beginning of the Christmas Story together from:
Luke 1 NKJV
26 ¶ Now in the sixth month
the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a
man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was
Mary.
28 And having come in, the
angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with
you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him,
she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this
was.
30 Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 “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.
33 “And He will reign over
the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the
angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 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.
36 “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.
37 “For with God nothing will
be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
It
amazes me to realize that:
·
God
entrusted His plan for the salvation of mankind to a young unproven girl in the
small and questionable town of Nazareth.
·
God
fully invested Himself in her once she made her simple statement of faith, “Be
it unto me according to your word.”
·
On
top of the fact that Mary was young and unproven, she was also engaged to be
married to a local construction worker named Joseph.
·
The fate of mankind could not rest on all of the things
Mary and Joseph did not understand but rather upon the one thing they did.
o
This
was God’s will … the word, and the hand of God.
o
There
is such power in a modest submission to God – even when, and especially when,
we don’t have all the answers.
o If what we don’t know
concerns us, we can let what we do know secure us.
o
What
do you know? Mary and Joseph knew enough to trust God.
·
However
Mary and Joseph not only trusted God, but they also had to trust each other.
They could not depend on anyone else being there for them in their difficult
times to come.
o
Sometimes
our victory comes from partnering with those who will encourage us to trust
God.
o
People
who are committed to walk the same ground we walk.
·
Mary
was betrothed to this common construction worker, living in a city less thought
of than most in Israel. The prospects were not all that great. But it was no
worse than most of the others around them.
o
Everything
in Israel, and indeed the world at that time, was so out of order that the
descendant of a king (David) was a carpenter.
o
Instead
of living in Jerusalem or Hebron or Bethlehem, on land owned by the family, Joseph
lived in Nazareth, the lowest of cities in the Galilee.
o
This
alone should show us the dire circumstances into which our Savior was born. Jesus
would be called Jesus of Nazareth.
o
The
world had only managed to turn itself upside down and it was so far away from
the covenant and the promises of God.
o
But
what was that to God? Is God not able to overcome the world and solve the
troubles it has caused itself?
·
The
Christmas Story reveals God’s way which seems to be:
o
First, let me tell you what I am going to do in your life
… (Luke 1:31 You will conceive and bring forth a Son …)
o
Then, let me tell you what I am going to do through your
life … (Luke 1:32 He will be great, and He will reign …)
·
Mary
brought forth the eternal King of the Jews, the very Son of God, in a lowly
stable cave in Bethlehem.
o If God can manage to save the whole world from a lowly manger, surely, we can manage to trust God in the upside-down moments we face in life.
There
are so many things the Christmas Story teaches us. However, there are still
so many things we don’t know. For example:
·
Did
Jesus know his grandparents?
·
Did
Joseph and Mary suffer rejection from family members and close friends?
·
Did
Mary and Joseph ever argue, doubt, or get close to giving up?
·
How
did they feel about being forced by the government to comply with the travel
and census requirements late in Mary’s pregnancy?
o
Were
they told by angels how important the trip to Bethlehem was to God’s plan? Or
did they just have to trust God … and …
· What ever happened to Joseph?
There are so many things we don’t know, just like there were many things Mary and Joseph did not know. However as I said earlier, there is one thing they did know. Gabriel told both of them individually: Do not be afraid to trust God with your lives.
We must not allow the things we don’t know to overshadow the things we do know.
· Matthew 1:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
· Luke 1:30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
When God sent Gabriel to speak with Zacharias about the coming birth of his son John, He sent him to the Church … the Temple … to the clergy, the priest, if you will. However, God’s greatest fulfillment was not intended to be the sending of messengers with messages to the Church leaders, but rather God’s greatest hope is in sending His Word to the hearts and homes of the common people such as Mary and Joseph.
God always does His greatest work, not in the Church, but in the hearts and homes of unsuspecting people.
This morning I pray the Christmas Story has given you hope and inspired you to trust God with your life. I also pray you become an encouragement to others on their journey with God. You have an important part to play in God’s plan. The one thing God needs from you today is trust.
Trust God with your life and remember – Do not be afraid … all things are possible with God.
If
you have never personally asked God to forgive you of your sins and invited
Jesus into your heart, you can do that right now with just a simple prayer. If
you will call on the name of the Lord Jesus, He will save your soul. Trust God
with your life … don’t be afraid … the presence of the Lord is right there with
you, wherever you are, right now. Let’s pray …
