Do You See What I See?

Do You See What I See?

Chuck Sligh

December 13, 2020

A 3-slide PowerPoint presentation of this short message is available by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.

TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Luke 1

INTRODUCTION

Each of us sees different things when we think of Christmas.

• Mention the word Christmas to most children and the vision that comes to their minds is a jolly old man in a red suit who delivers toys with a small herd of flying reindeer.

• Say Christmas to most of us adults and several pictures are likely to form in our minds:

• Some think of lights and decorations lining city streets. (“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style / In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas.”)

• Others think of bell-ringing Salvation Army Santas seeking donations.

• Some think of Christmas trees decked with beautiful lights and ornaments.

• To many people, the favorite thought that comes to their minds is a picture of large stadiums filled with fans watching large, husky, helmeted men crack one another’s skulls, chasing an oval-shaped, inflated pig-skin.

• And to some, sadly, Christmas conjures up images of wild parties, drunkenness, and “good times” that are really BAD times of sin and seduction and shame.

When I think of Christmas, I see the story given to us in the Bible about the birth of Jesus. There’s a popular Christmas song, titled, “Do You See What I See?” As we think about the Lord’s birthday, do you see what I see? What is that?…

I. FIRST, I SEE A MOTHER

Look with me at some verses in Luke 1:

• Verses 26-28 – “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”

• Verses 46-48 – “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.”

When I think of Christmas, I cannot help but see Mary, the mother of Jesus. Consider two things about her:

1) First, she was a SIMPLE woman.

She didn’t come from royalty, or even a wealthy merchantman’s home. All indications are that she was a simple peasant woman.

God OFTEN uses ordinary people to accomplish His great purposes.

• God used a shy, stuttering SHEEP-HERDER named MOSES to lead the Israelites out of slavery to the door of the Promised Land.

• He used a simple SHEPHERD BOY named DAVID to fell a mighty giant and later to lead a nation to victory and glory.

• God used a simple, uneducated PROPHET by the name of AMOS to deliver a thunderous message from God to Israel.

• He used simple, ordinary MEN who came from all walks of life to bring the Gospel to the world, including fishermen and tax collectors.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 – “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: 29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

So it was with Mary. God chose a simple, ordinary vessel to bring glory to Himself. That means He can use you too! (EXPAND AS LED.)

2) She may have been a simple woman, but she was also a SURRENDERED woman.

In Luke 1:30-38 the angel appears to Mary and informs her that she has been chosen to bring the Messiah into the world. Look at her response in verse 38 – “ And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.…”

This was momentous news to Mary. But note that Mary didn’t say, “Let me pray about this, and I’ll get back with you about it.” Once she understood what GOD wanted, she IMMEDIATELY surrendered to God’s will for her life.

God help us to be completely surrendered to God in every area of our lives so that God’s will can be done through us just as it was in Mary’s life.