Blessedness Of Belief - Luke 1:39-45

Hello. RT Hull Ministries is grateful and humbled to be part of your sanctification today. We invite you to review our other sermons online, but also want to stress the importance of being joined with a biblical local church. Our website is rthullministries.com. That's R-T-H-U-L-L-M-I-N-S-T-R-I-E. ministries.com.

Well, good morning again. It's wonderful to be with you this Lord's Day. We're glad for all of you to be here. I know some have been sick last week and I'm glad you're better. Those that are still ailing, we want to lift them up in prayer. Time of year with the holidays here, people are here, there and yonder seeing family, but we're glad that all of you are present today and pray that it'll be that way the best you can through the rest of this year.

We have been in the gospel of Luke and so I pray that It seems for me that usually when Christmas appears or happens, I'm always startled by the soonness of it, but I pray that our time in Luke will have us well prepared as we come into this Christmas season. Thanksgiving, this coming week. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here. We have much to be thankful for. I was just thinking of, our last Thanksgiving, and we were hurriedly preparing and shuttling around trying to get here. And to get here, in fact, we began December 15th, so that's coming up too, or I began pastoring this church and coming just not very long ago. So it's much to be thankful for on our account, and hopefully that's shared, but definitely from our side.

Well, as we look into our text this morning, remember Luke is giving us an orderly account. He is checking with many eyewitnesses. No doubt as we come to this section that one of the eyewitnesses was more than likely was Mary. Who would have known the things that are presented by Luke other than Mary? She was present at these different amazing things that have happened.

We have heard of two angelic visitations. We have heard of these two miraculous conceptions, two miracles in the womb. In fact, two women that God is using in a miraculous way. And before I even read the text, it's noteworthy, and you might wonder why is this noteworthy to even mention, but it's noteworthy that Luke is mentioning these two women particularly, and many other women in scripture.

The reason I say that is because in the time, as in these times, as Luke starts his gospel and he says, in the days of Herod, well, in this time, Women would have been not given as much notice as men. They would have been maybe not heard. In fact, they were not even declared to be witnesses in a court of law. Because of that, it's unique that Luke is bringing out how important it is in God's economy and how women are important in God's economy. And now there's roles and there's duties that are different between men and women, but how God is showing us how important women are.

In fact, if we look at all of the redemptive accounts that we see, when we look at, for instance, the birth, the pre-birth, the birth, the life of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ. One thing you'll see is that women were present, witnessing And Luke is not bashful in bringing this out. How women were present as witnesses in the worship of Christ. How much we can learn from women as they knelt before Christ and worshipped Him. And Mary and Elizabeth specifically as we come to this text. I just wanted to alert us to that, to look at the worship and the serving of women in the Bible and their self-denial and cross-bearing. And we see this example prominent for us this morning in this account where we notice Mary and Elizabeth. Let's read the text. We're in verses 39, and we will read through verses 45.

Remember that the angel has just appeared to Mary. And she asked the question, how can this be? The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The power of the most high will overshadow you. And he mentions the angel in verse 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. for nothing will be impossible with God. And what is Mary's statement of faith? Behold, the bond slave of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.

Picking up in verse 39, hear the word of the Lord. Now at this time, Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country to a city of Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord. Amen. Thus ends the reading of his word.