Title: The Favor of God
Theme:
Text: Luke 1:26-38
Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed (engaged) to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's (Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. prophecy fulfilled) 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."
Introduction
Putting the gospels together you see 4 perspectives. It is like reading a story through the eyes of five people.
Matthew begins his book with the genealogy of Jesus and Jesus birth through Joseph’s eyes.
Mark jumps right into the story with the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist and his announcement of the coming of the Messiah
Luke begins his gospel with the birth of John the Baptist and Zacharias
Finally John starts from the beginning. I mean the very beginning of time as we know it. He informs us that Jesus Christ was in the beginning. He is God and was part of the original creation.
As you know Mary was not an ordinary woman. We in the protestant tradition have a tendency to ignore Mary and the prominent role that she played in the birth of Jesus. We tend to downplay who she was.
Now I am not advocating that Mary was divine. Or even that we should pray to and through Mary to get our prayers answered. I don’t believe there are any scriptures that teach that doctrine nor come close. But Mary was special.
Notice with me this phrase, “
Luke 1:28 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.
We started our Characters of Christmas talking about Zacharias and how the Lord used him to birth a miracle into the world. As I was pondering these messages in Christmas I was intrigued by the similarities. God showed the importance of the coming events as he sent his angel to share the good news of Christ. This happened in the life of Zecharias, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and then a divine intervention in the Magi.
This week I have kind of rolled that over and over again in my mind. I kept coming back to the word “favour”. The Bible says that she found “favour”. I mean this is not a new word. If you do a Greek study you find that the word favour comes from the Greek word “charis” khar’-ece which is also translated as grace.
It is the same as in the Hebrew. In Hebrew we find the word chen khane =K-HAW-NUH. Which again we see translated as grace, gracious, and favour.
When we use the word grace and limit our definition as “unmerited favour” we limit our understanding. It doesn’t mean that it is not true. Obliviously we don’t deserve any grace that God has poured out in our life.
But understanding favour is not all about what we deserve as much as what we are prepared for.
I believe it was more than just being in the right place at the right time. It was more than God just looking out across the earth and saying, “Hum, who should I bestow this wonderful blessing on. I wonder. There are just so many. Hey should I flip a coin or how about any miny mighty moe.” Now I don’t want to diminish God’s decision but I want to show you that Mary was the perfect person for the job or role that God gave her.
Not just because of God’s undeserved grace or favor but because she put herself in the position to be blessed of God.
God knew who Mary was. He knew of her character. In Genesis 6:8 we read that Noah found “grace” in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was not just a special person who God just plucked out of the multitude. But Noah was a man whom God looked down upon and noticed his character and commitment and chose him.
Genesis 6:9 “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”
Setting yourself up for a blessing
People who found favor in the Bible: Noah, Samuel, David, Mary
Jesus grew in favor with God and men.
I. Faith
34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 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."
I believe this is the first characteristic that one must have is they are to receive the favor of God. We must believe God and his promises. Mary believed God. Every question she asks is about faith.
The difference between the questions of Mary and the question of Zechariah (Luk 1:18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years." ) was that Mary’s question was more, “God I know that you can do this, but I just want to understand how.” Zechariah was, “God I just don’t think this is possible.”
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
MSG 6 It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
II. Purity-holiness
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.
There were many women who could not be used because they were not pure. They were not a virgin. But I believe that this purity speaks more than just being a virgin but it also speaks of her character. She was holy.
Holiness means to be set apart for the work of God. (A spiritual discipline that we observe, abstaining from.) Holiness is more that just things that we do, it is more than just a life style but it is setting ourselves apart so that God can use us.
I believe a long time ago that Mary had felt a close connection to the Lord and had set in her heart to be pure and holy. She wanted to walk close to Him.
She reminds me of Anna the Prophetess. We see her later on after the Birth of Jesus. She worked in the temple. She had devoted herself to the temple after her husband had passed away.
Heb 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
Quote: “Holiness is religious principle put into action. –It is faith gone to work. –It is loved coined into conduct; devotion helping human suffering, and going up in intercession to the great source of good.” F. D. Huntington
Quote: “A holy life is a voice; it speaks when the tongue is silent, and is either a constant attraction or a perpetual reproof” – Leighton
I don’t believe that we struggle with the word holiness as much as we struggle with the word Discipline yet we are called to be an disciple.
Holiness may be abstaining and not giving into indulgences. Why? So that we can prepare to receive a blessing for the Lord. We do it all the time when we save up for something to reap a reward, or we wait for something waiting on the reward.
Fasting
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.(Matthew 6:16-18)
III. Humility
Notice the third characteristic Mary was humble. “Mary pondered these things in her heart.”
Luke 1:46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
Psalms 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
First shall be last and the last shall be first.
Quote: Humility does not mean you think less of yourself, It means you think of yourself less." - Ken Blanchard
Quote: True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit; it is but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us.-Tryon Edwards
IV. Commitment
38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
Notice that phrase in verse 38 “according to your word”. In other words Mary was saying, “I don’t understand it. But I do believe.”
Believing what the angel said in Luke 1:37 “ For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Anna the Prophetess
Luke 2:36-38 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. (38) And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
“Choose your rut carefully because you are going to be there along time” - Quote
(This was no easy task as Mary must have known that every person in the Old Testament who found favor with the Lord and God had a divine task for also suffering, It must have crossed her mind that she would be ridiculed because of the way she was pregnant, Luke 2:34-35 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against 35 (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
MSG Luke 2:34-35 Simeon went on to bless them, and said to Mary his mother, This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, A figure misunderstood and contradicted-- (35) the pain of a sword-thrust through you-- But the rejection will force honesty, as God reveals who they really are.
then And the angel departed from her.
Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Conclusion
What about you? Do you feel that you are walking in the favor of God? I am not talking about some invisible force that we just hope in our mind or build our faith but I am talking about being prepared to receive a blessing from the Lord.
To me blessings are more that just something we gain for our pleasure but something we gain because of our commitment. You see it was a blessing for Mary to receive the duty of birthing the Christ child. It was a great honor. Some would even say, “I wish it would have happened to me.” But notice this blessing was also a burden. Notice the sacrifice of ridicule, of moving from city to city. Notice the blessing when he proclaimed who he was. The ridicule of the Pharisees.
Faith, purity, humility, commitment
