SERMON OUTLINE:
1. The "Do not be afraid" of the impossible. (Luke 1:13).
2. The "Do not be afraid" of unanswered prayer: (Luke 1: 30).
3. The "Do not be afraid of salvation. (Luke 2:10-11).
4. The "Do not be afraid" of obedience. (Matthew 1:20).
SERMON BODY:
Quote:
• Researchers at Johns Hopkins University reported that 30 years ago,
• The greatest fears of grade school children were:
• (1) Animals, (2) Being in a dark room, (3) High places, (4) Strangers, (5) Loud noises.
• A more recent report suggested that today the fears of children were:
• (1) Divorce, (2) War, (3) Cancer, (4) Pollution, (5) Being mugged.
Ill:
• I like the story of the man who could not sleep;
• He was convinced that there was somebody at night under his bed;
• And this fear kept him from sleeping.
• He tried all sort of pills & tablets but none of them worked;
• He went for psychiatric help but again that failed him.
• One night in a pub the bloke next to him gave him the perfect solution;
• He said; “Why don’t you cut the legs off the bed?”
• Problem solved!
Fear is something we all have or will at times experience:
• Most of us experience it in mild form,
• Some folks experience it in extreme forms.
Ill:
• Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people.
• Aerophobia: fear of drafts.
• Porphyrophobia: fear of the colour purple.
• Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.
• Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.
• Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.
• Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings.
• Thalassophobia: fear of being seated.
• Stabisbasiphobia: fear of standing and walking.
• Odontophobia: fear of teeth.
• Graphophobia: fear of writing in public.
• Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.
• ill: Joke: Fear: What do you call an irrational fear of Santa Claus?
• Answer: Claustrophobia.
Well we might not have extreme fears & phobias;
• But we all have concerns, worries, anxieties & uncertainties
• i.e. Fear of losing their jobs, old age, health, wealth,
• i.e. Fear of being found out – exposed! Fear of facing an uncertain future.
In the Christmas narrative on 4 occasions we read the words:
• “Do not fear” (N.I.V.) or;
• Or "fear not." (K.J.B.).
• I want us to look at them this morning.
(1). The " Do not fear " of the impossible,
(Luke ch 1 vs 29-38).
“Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God.
31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end.
34 How will this be, Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin?
35 The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.
37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
38 I am the Lord’s servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. Then the angel left her.
Ill:
• How do you handle impossible situations?
• A police exam paper read:
• You are on patrol in outer London;
• When an explosion occurs in a gas main in a nearby street.
• On investigation you find that a large hole has been blown in the footpath;
• And there is an overturned van lying nearby.
• Inside the van there is a strong smell of alcohol.
• Both occupants—a man and a woman—are injured.
• You recognise the woman as the wife of your Divisional Inspector,
• Who is at present away in the USA.
• A passing motorist stops to offer you assistance;
• And you realise that he is a man who is wanted for armed robbery.
• Suddenly a man runs out of a nearby house,
• Shouting that his wife is expecting a baby;
• And that the shock of the explosion has made the birth imminent.
• Another man is crying for help, having been blown into an adjacent canal by the explosion,
• And he cannot swim.
• Bearing in mind the provisions of the Mental Health Act,
• describe in a few words what actions you would take.
• The officer thought for a moment, picked up his pen, and wrote:
• ‘I would take off my uniform and mingle with the crowd.’
When faced with what seemed an impossible situation;
• Mary did not have the option to simply blend in with the crowd!
• In fact the opposite her situation would in 9 months time make her stand out in a crowd!
• She was facing a terrifying and complicated situation.
• And yet, she was told ‘do not be afraid’.
Note: Humanly speaking she had every reason to be afraid, to worry, to be afraid!
(a).
• She should be afraid because she was only a teenager:
• Probably around thirteen to fifteen years of age.
• We know this because for Jewish girls in New Testament times;
• Betrothals commonly took place when a girl was between thirteen and fifteen yrs old,
• And then the marriage would take place about a year later.
• Mary we are told was betrothed to Joseph.
• So she was young and in many ways inexperienced and immature;
(b).
• She should be afraid because…
• Who was going to believe her far-fetched story;
• Concerning an angelic being and a miraculous conception?
• And if what appeared to be ‘a whopper’ of a lie was hard to believe;
• Her story (or lie) seemed to get even bigger:
• She was also claiming that the child to be born was to be the Son of God, the Messiah!
(c).
• She should be afraid because she must face up to her parents;
• How could she tell her parents she was pregnant;
• Knowing that this news would break their hearts;
• This was there innocent little girl, their pride and joy;
• And now she appeared to be anything but innocent;
• Their prise and joy had brought shame and sadness on the family.
(d).
• She should be afraid because…
• She must she face Joseph, the rest of her family & friends?
• Who would all think the very worst of her!
(e).
• She should be afraid because…of her community?
• Once the news of her pregnancy leaked out;
• The gossip and slander of this situation would be almost unbearable.
• Wherever she went tongues would wag or people would turn their backs and shun her.
(e).
• She should be afraid because…
• Of the reaction of her village?
• She knew that bad news spread quickly!
• At best she would be shunned, rejected and ignored by the rest of the village;
• And at worst the villagers might pick up rocks to stone her!
Somehow through this hurricane of emotional and changing circumstances:
• Mary found strength and courage and peace!
• We know she found strength and courage and peace;
• Because she tells us in her Song of Praise - The Magnificat;
• Found in verses 46-55.
• When we looked at this recently in one of our Word & Worship services:
• We noted that every line of this song has an Old Testament reference.
• In other words Mary knew her Bible (Old Testament).
• And I believe this knowledge (the Word of God) alive in her heart and mind;
• What we would call a living faith;
• Gave Mary the courage, the peace and the strength she needed!
• Because her faith was real;
• She had allowed the scriptures to reveal to her the God of whom they spoke;
• Mary’s faith was not academic i.e. a set of beliefs.
• Mary’s faith was relational – she knew her God!
Application: Mary knew from history:
• From her Old Testament scriptures that God had intervened in the past;
• He had performed miracles in the lives of individuals and the nation.
• And she had a strong enough faith to believe;
• That God could step into her situation and life and perform a miracle in the future!
Quote: C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed.
• “You never know how much you really believe anything;
• Until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.
• It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound;
• As long as you are merely using it to tie up a box.
• But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a sheer drop.
• Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it?”
Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief.
• For Mary this situation was the biggest test of her life;
• And in response she demonstrated incredible faith & trust in her God.
• Question: Do we?
Quote:
• Howarth, David & Howarth, Stephen Nelson: The Immortal Memory p113
• Admiral Nelson:
• "When I lay me down to sleep," he [Admiral Nelson] wrote,
• "I recommend myself to the care of Almighty God;
• When I awake I give myself up to His direction.
• Amidst all the evils that threaten me, I will look up to Him for help,
• And question not but that He will either avert them or turn them to my advantage.
• Though I know neither the time nor the manner of my death,
• I am not at all solicitous about it,
• Because I am sure that He knows them both,
• And that He will not fail to support and comfort me."
(2). The "Do not be afraid" of unanswered
prayer (Luke ch 1 vs 7 & 13).
“But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren;
and they were both well on in years”.
“But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John”.
Ill:
Imagine praying to God and getting this response.
• Thank you for calling;
• If your prayer concerns a personal request, please press 1.
• If you are praying on behalf of someone else, please press 2.
• If you are a fully paid-up member of a recognised mainstream Church, please press 3.
• If you are an occasional attender, please press 4.
• If you are a non-religious pagan, please press 5.
• If you are a committed atheist or agnostic taking a long shot, please press 6.
• If none of the options apply, please hold.
• You are in a queuing system and one of our operatives will be with you shortly.
• Thank you for your prayer request.
• All of us at the gates of heaven are working hard to deal with it as soon as we can.
• In the meantime, please relax and enjoy a selection of sounds from our collection.
• Bless you for calling.
Questions:
• Aren’t you glad we don’t get answers to our prayers like that?
• I am sure we all say; “Yes!”
• But…at least it was an answer!
• Question: What happens when we don’t get any answer at all?
• Question: How do we cope when heaven is silent to our prayers?
For Zachariah & Elizabeth their prayers for a son always went unanswered!
• Day after day, week after week, month after month,
• Year after year, decade after decade – they prayed & they prayed but nothing happened!
Ill:
• In Rome, there is a sculpture of Moses carved in marble by Michelangelo.
• When he’d finished this figure;
• He was so overcome with its life-like features that he said to it,
• "Speak! Why don’t you speak to me?"
• For years Zachariah & Elizabeth had said to God:
• "Speak! Why don’t you speak to me?"
• But heaven was silent and they grew older and maybe lost all hope!
For Zachariah & Elizabeth it was not just a personal heartbreak:
• In the time and culture in which they lived;
• It was also a social & spiritual stigma.
Quote: William Barclay:
• “The Jewish Rabbis said that seven types of people were ex-communicated from God;
• And the list began;
• A Jew who has no wife;
• Or a Jew who has a wife and who has no child”
• In fact childlessness was a valid ground for divorce.
• As well as being a heart-ache to them, it was also a social & spiritual humiliation
Zechariah and Elisabeth no doubt made this a matter of constant prayer:
• And God heard that prayer.
• And he would answer that prayer in his time and in a special way!
• God did not just give them a son (who would follow on as a priest),
• But God would give them a prophet!
• And no ordinary prophet;
• For their son would be the ‘for runner’ and herald of the coming King!
• Jesus would one day describe him as (Matthew chapter 11 verse 11);
• “Among those born of women there has not risen any greater than John the Baptist”
Ill:
It has been suggested that there are four answers to our prayers by God!
• First: If the request is wrong, God says, "No."
• This is when we ask for wrong things outside of his will.
• Second: If the timing is wrong, God says, "Slow."
• This is when there are other things that need to happen before the answer comes.
• God’s delay is not God’s denial.
• Third: If you are wrong, God says, "Grow."
• The answer does not come because you are not ready to handle it.
• Fourth: But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right,
• God says, "Go!"
Application:
• For us, the lesson here is this:
• We may not get the answer we want immediately,
• But we must keep asking and keep believing.
• God will answer in His time!
Ill:
A few years ago,
• When archaeologists began excavating in the courtyard of a medieval monastery,
• They found seeds that had been dormant for more than 400 years that had begun to grow.
• King Henry VIII had closed the monastery in 1539,
• And the herbs tended by the monks all died.
• But those herbs sprouted to life again;
• After the archaeologists disturbed the earth.
• This reminds us that ‘God is able to do’
• God can and is able to work & bring life in every situation – so keep trusting!
(3). The "Do not fear" of salvation
(Luke ch 2 vs 10-11).
“But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
A ‘saviour’ is born:
• Note those words carefully!
• Not an example for mankind (though he was);
• Not a prophet (though he was);
• Not a healer (though he was);
• Not a miracle worker (though he was);
• Not a great teacher (though he was);
• Those things were important but they are all secondary to why he came;
• That message was clear “A saviour has been born” – Jesus came to rescue people!
Think about it:
• The Bible (and history) gives to us lots of examples,
• It gives to us prophets & miracle workers;
• It gives to us teachers and encouragers.
• Those things can all be done by God working in and through an individual.
• But there was one thing no human being could ever do;
• And that was to be a saviour for the human race!
• And that is primarily the reason Jesus came:
• That message was clear “A saviour has been born” – Jesus came to rescue people!
Ill:
• A wealthy English family once invited friends to spend some time at their beautiful estate.
• The happy occasion was almost plunged into a terrible tragedy on the first day.
• Because the children went swimming,
• And one of them got into deep water and started drowning.
• Fortunately, the gardener heard the other screaming children;
• And jumped into the pool to rescue the drowning child.
• That youngster was Winston Churchill.
• His parents, deeply grateful to the gardener, asked what they could do to reward him.
• He hesitated & then said, “I wish my son could go to college someday and become a doctor.”
• Churchill’s parents replied “We will pay his way,”
• Years later when Sir Winston was prime minister of England:
• He was stricken with pneumonia.
• Greatly concerned, the king summoned his best physician to treat him;
• That doctor who came was Sir Alexander Fleming (the developer of penicillin).
• He was also the son of that gardener who had saved Winston from drowning as a boy!
• Later Churchill said,
• “Rarely has one man owed his life twice to the same person.”
• We owe our very lives to Jesus Christ twice!
• He is the ‘Word of God’ who ‘made all things” including you and me!
• He is the ‘Saviour’ who gave his life as an offering for your sin and mine!
That is why we sing those words:
• “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight”
• Because Jesus Christ, “Came into the world to save sinners”
• He was born as a baby with one purpose in mind:
• That one Friday afternoon at 3.00pm when he was aged 33 he would go to the cross;
• And he would give his perfect life on behalf of imperfect (sinful) people!
Ill:
• How can one person die for all?
• Compare a stainless steel ring with a 24 carat gold ring.
• They may be exactly the same shape and size,
• But the gold ring is worth far more.
• Question: Why?
• Answer: The value lies in the quality of the metal.
• The value of Jesus’ life is worth far more than every human who ever lived.
• That’s why He and He alone could pay the price.
(4). The "fear not" of obedience.
(Matthew ch 1 vs 20-25).
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23 The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel— which means, God with us.
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus”
Note: the key word in verse 24: “did”;
• “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him”.
• Instant obedience as soon as he woke up!
• Joseph’s decision was to be faithful to the will of God;
• To do what God told him to do!
• This was not a light decision to make;
• Just think about it!
• It meant that both Mary and himself would lose their reputations;
• It meant them having to bear the responsibility and shame of a child out of wedlock!
• Joseph who was described in verse 19 as a “righteous man”;
• Would from now on be considered an unrighteous man, a sinner, a disgrace to his family!
• From now on they lived under a cloud of public shame,
• As though they were guilty of immorality,
• Yet Joseph accepted the responsibility of caring for Mary;
• A woman thought to have been a fornicator, & rearing a child thought to be illegitimate!
Joseph’s decision was to do what was right no matter the cost:
• He was prepared to do God’s will even in the face of criticism,
• He was prepared to do God’s will even if it meant being misunderstood or falsely judged!
Question:
• What about us?
• In what way are we prepared to obey God?
Quote:
“The greatest thing you can do for God is the very next thing that he asks you to do”
Question:
• What is God asking you to do?
• Is it to trust him, to become a follower of Jesus!
• Is it to be baptised?
• Is it to join a local Church?
• Is it to get more involved in the activities of that fellowship?
• Is it to be reconciled to someone?
• Is it deal with deliberate sin in your life?
• Is it to speak or pray or give to someone or something?
• The list is endless – so you fill in the blanks;
• Dare we ask God in what way Lord do I need to obey?
