The Key in God’s Hand-I—Luke 1:26-38
Christians are to be Keys in God’s hands.
Need:
Feel Useless, Unfulfilled, Separated
God has put me on the shelf. God can't use me...I'm too...weak,dull,ignorant,dumb,ugly,far gone, etc...
If God has chosen you, you are NOT unusable!
Mary was a key player in God’s plan of salvation.
Christians of all stripes are key players in God’s plan of salvation.
Who is a key in God’s hand?
1—A Key in God’s hand is
A SCRUTINIZED Person(:26-28, 30)
Explanation:(:26-28, 30) Watched
:26—“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
In the sixth month—of Elizabeth’s pregnancy
At this time, A specific angel(Gabriel) was sent( to the city of Nazareth which was located in the province/state/area of Galilee.
Gabriel—Gabrihl—From layrbg—“Man/Warrior of God”—An archangel; the angel God used to send messages of great importance to man;
Sent to Daniel, to Zacharias, & Mary.
He “stands in the presence of God”(Lk. 1:19). He has “the appearance of a man & can speak with the voice of a man.”(Dan. 8:15,16). Gave Daniel “skill to understand....the vision” he had been given.(Dan. 9:21-22). He appeared to Zacharias at the Golden Altar & there prophesied of John the Baptist’s birth & ministry.
“Sent”—apostellw—Apostle—1)To order (one) to go to a place appointed; 2) To send away, dismiss —2a) To allow one to depart, that he may be in a state of liberty—2b) To order one to depart, send off—2c) To drive away.
:27—“to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.”
Gabriel was sent specifically to a virgin who’s name was Mary. Mary was engaged/betrothed/espoused/promised to a man by the name of Joseph. Joseph was a descendant of David(his family lineage could be traced directly to king David—to whom was promised an everlasting kingdom).
“Betrothed/Engaged”—mnhsteuw—1) To woo her and ask her in marriage; 2) To be promised in marriage, be betrothed.
“Virgin”—paryenov—1) A virgin—1a) A marriageable maiden, 1b) A woman who has never had sexual intercourse with a man, 1c) one's marriageable daughter; 2) A man who has abstained from all uncleanness and whoredom attendant on idolatry, and so has kept his chastity—2a) One who has never had intercourse with women. STRONG—A maiden; by implication, an unmarried daughter:-- virgin.
“Mary”—Maria— “Their rebellion”; From —Myrm Miryam— “Rebellion.”
:28—“And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!””
Scrutinized—Eng.—‘To examine or inspect closely & thoroughly.’
—How many of us are willing to be put under the microscope, To be watched, To be seen in our privacy, To be privately spied out? We have no choice...Because is omnicient.
He is not trying to find dirt on you....He is trying to find faith & put that faith to work in & for you & others. & in this we indeed “rejoice!” as God has found us “highly favored.”
“Rejoice/Hail”—cairw—1)To rejoice, be glad; 2) To rejoice exceedingly; 3) To be well, thrive; 4) In salutations, hail!; 5) At the beginning of letters: to give one greeting, salute.
“Highly favored one”—caritow—1) To make graceful—1a) Charming, lovely, agreeable; 2) To peruse with grace, compass with favor; 3) To honor with blessings. Strong—To grace, i.e. indue with special honor:-- Make accepted, be highly favored.
:30—“Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.”
Peace with God—Rom. 5:1-2—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Peace of God—Php. 4:6-7—“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer & supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; & the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts & minds through Christ Jesus.”
Argumentation:
Ps. 139:3—“You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.”—NKJV
Ps 139:3 “Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately acquainted with all my ways.”—NASB
“Comprehend/Scrutinize”—hrz zaw-raw'—To toss about; by implication, to diffuse, winnow:-- cast away, compass, disperse, fan, scatter (away), spread, strew, winnow.
Job 11:11— “For He knows false men, And He sees iniquity without investigating.”
Job 31:4— “Does He not see my ways, And number all my steps?”
Nahum 1:7—“The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him.”
Gal. 4:9— “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak & worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?”
Jn. 10:14— “"I am the good shepherd; & I know My own, & My own know Me,”
1Cor. 3:12-13— “Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; & the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.”
Jn. 3:17-21—“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, & men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light & does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.””
*Js. 3:1— “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment.”
Illustration:
Sam’s invitation to Western Carolina University/Possible Shot-put scholarship/Tour of campus/SCRITINIZED each other
Grady General Hospital/Miller begin as Trainee/Observed behavior, work & attitude/SCRUTINIZED
My job at UPS Hub in Raleigh,NC during seminary/Comparatively a ‘pie’ job/Monitor the hub operation in/Checked zip codes on certain loads/Operation very tightly monitored/SCRUTINIZED
Application:
?What does God find as you are SCRUTINIZED?
?You Key to God’s Kingdom?...A key in His hand?
2—A Key in God’s hand is
A PRINCIPLED Person(26-27, 34)
Explanation:(:26-27, 34)
: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.”
“Mary”—Maria— “Their rebellion”; From —Myrm Miryam— “Rebellion.”
*Betrothed virgin—No thought of pre-marital sex
:34—“Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
Pondered the words on the grounds that it was a clear violation & contradiction of God’s principles & character.
‘Consenting Adults’—Divorcees/Widows/Bachelors—Not acceptable simply because adults.
*Principled—Does the right thing! God wanted Someone who presents no challenge to Jesus’ origins.
A person of integrity—Mary’s beliefs/principles were married to her body’s operation.
Argumentation:
Isa. 66:2—“.....“But on this one will I look: On him who is poor & of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.”
1Tim. 5:21— “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God & of Christ Jesus & of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.”
Titus 2:11-14—“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness & worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, & godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope & glorious appearing of our great God & Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Titus 3:8-11—“This is a faithful saying, & these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good & profitable to men. But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, & strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable & useless. Reject a divisive man after the first & second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped & sinning, being self-condemned.”
Col. 1:9-12—“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, & to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom & spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work & increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience & longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”
Illustration:
My neighbor’s asking to cut a tree limb so he could mow without ducking/I immediately cut it/PRINCIPLED
Bill’s tree fell on his neighbor’s fence/On Sunday, after worship, removed tree & helped fix the neighbor’s fence/PRINCIPLED
Waiting to exit School after pick up daughter/Parking lot/2 lanes turning left into single lane of main pick-up/Some people do their best to get ahead/Others do their best to help others/PRINCIPLED
You financially desperate/Find a wallet with money in it? Do you keep it?/PRINCIPLED
Application:
?Does God find you to be a PRINCIPLED Person?
?You Key to God’s Kingdom?...A Key in His hand?
3—A Key in God’s hand is
A SUITABLE Person(:28)
Explanation:(:28) Appropriate/Fitted
:28—“And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!”
“Highly favored one”—caritow—1) To make graceful—1a) Charming, lovely, agreeable; 2) To peruse with grace, compass with favor; 3) To honor with blessings. STRONG—To grace, i.e. indue with special honor:-- make accepted, be highly favored.
God uses people who are seemingly unsuitable. He uses sinners. People who can fail.
We are not Perfect, Yet Perfectly & uniquely fit/equipped for God’s intention.
Suited/Fitted for the situation/task.
Argumentation:
Lk. 9:62— “But Jesus said... "No one, after putting his hand to the plow & looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
1Cor. 12:4-7— “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, & the same Lord. And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”
Isa. 6:5-8—“So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, & said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.””
2Cor. 4:7-10—“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God & not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”
Illustration:
Sam(high school senior) approached by WCU for shot put/Scholarship material/SUITABLE Person
Tim Tebow/Quarterback for Gators/Big guy/Passes & rushes enough to make the Gators #1 in the SEC/Not perfect but perfect for Heisman Trophy candidate/SUITABLE
Tim’s Father, Bob is a missionary in Phillippines/Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association/ ‘Our PLAN is to preach the Gospel in every village in the Philippines in the next few years.....We intend to increase our staff of national evangelists to 60....By dividing the country into theaters of operation, with each evangelist assigned to a specific area,...we intend to preach the Gospel in every village.’/Boat ministry/SUITABLE
Application:
?Does God find you to be a SUITABLE Person?
?You Key to God’s Kingdom?...A Key in His hand?
4—A Key in God’s hand is
A TEACHABLE Person(:29, 34) Thinking/Concerned
Explanation:(:29, 34)
:29—“But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at his saying, & considered what manner of greeting this might be.”
“Considered”—dialogizomai—Lit.: To ‘think through.’ —To bring together different reasons, to reckon up the reasons, to reason, revolve in one's mind, deliberate.
:34—“And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
Attempt to understand something you don’t grasp the reality of.
Mary sought to apply the angel’s words to her mission.
Willing to be taught of God.
Mary didn’t bow out because she didn’t grasp full significance of what she heard.
—Some don’t read Bible because they don’t understand parts of it.
Argumentation:
Mat. 28:18-20— “And Jesus came up & spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven & on earth. "Go therefore & make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & the Son & the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; & lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."”
Jn. 6:44-45— “ "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; & I will raise him up on the last day. "It is written in the prophets, 'AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.' Everyone who has heard & learned from the Father, comes to Me.”
Jn. 14:25-26— “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, & bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
Acts 17:10-11—“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul & Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, & searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”
2Tim. 3:5-7—“having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households & make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning & never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Illustration:
My roasting a pork loin/There has to be an easier & better way to roast meat than seal it up with aluminum foil & water in a sealed pan/A roast is to be roasted(dry heat) rather than baked or steamed/Taught myself how to roast a pork loin/TEACHABLE
My collecting recipes/I Byronize most every recipe/Put what I learn into print/Always experimenting/TEACHABLE
My daddy’s desire to be a dentist/From mountains/Backwoods country folks/No or rotten teeth/No one in his family educated beyond high school/He received his DDS ~1957
Car mechanic trade/Brian Sifford followed in his father’s footsteps/Learned trustworthiness/Goes the extra mile/Father recently retired/Brian maintains his father’s service/TEACHABLE
Children of God learn what is necessary to serve Him!
Application:
?Does God find you to be a TEACHABLE Person?
?You Key to God’s Kingdom?...A Key in His hand?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
The Key in God’s Hand may be you!!
Keys in the Hand of God are...
SCRUNITINIZED People(:26-28, 34)
PRINCIPLED People (:26-27, 34)
SUITABLE People (:28)
TEACHABLE People (:29, 34)
Presented 10/24/2010pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
Presented 12/06/2009am to:
West Thonotosassa Baptist Church
In View of a Call—97%
10625 1st St.
Thonotosassa FL 33592
Presented 11/12/00am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
