MARY DID YOU KNOW
(A Pre- Christmas Message)
November 8, 2020
Intro:
We are fast approaching to the much awaited celebration of the SEASON OF LIGHT. And even in the midst of pandemic the JOY of ANTICIPATING the celebration of Faith, Hope and Love is there in our hearts. And today we will be hearing the 1st message of Christmas through this woman….
And the first question we will be asking to this woman is…..“Who are you?”
And she answers. “Jesus’s mother.” Wow! That’s why everyone is so deferential to her. She gave birth to and took care of the Savior of the world, God Himself in human flesh, - when Grace came down on Christmas.
She also said this, “There are times in the life of every person, when God reveals Himself and asks that we do something. That is a special God moment, and so pay attention to what I say, : Don’t miss your moment with God.”
Luke 1:26-38 International Children’s Bible (ICB)
26-27 During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel
to a virgin who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to marry
a man named Joseph from the family of David. Her name was Mary.
28 The angel came to her and said, “Greetings! The Lord has blessed you
and is with you.” 29 But Mary was very confused by what the angel said.
Mary wondered, “What does this mean?”
30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, because God is pleased with you.
31 Listen! You will become pregnant. You will give birth to a son,
and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and people will call him
the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David,
his ancestor. 33 He will rule over the people of Jacob forever. His kingdom
will never end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this happen?
I am a virgin!” 35 The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and the power of the Most High will cover you.
The baby will be holy. He will be called the Son of God.
36 Now listen! Elizabeth, your relative, is very old.
But she is also pregnant with a son. Everyone thought she could not have a baby,
but she has been pregnant for six months. 37 God can do everything!”
38 Mary said, “I am the servant girl of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!”
Then the angel went away.
THIS IS MARY – THIS IS YOU.
Imagine what it must have been like to be a young teenage girl living in a culture where women had no voice, and where being unmarried and pregnant was a crime punishable by death. All the odds were against her, and yet she said YES.
Her encounter had characteristics that I believe can teach us about God moments:
• They are initiated by God, not us. Mary didn’t ask for the experience she received. Nor could she have created it on her own. Only God could do it. That’s always true. They are unanticipated. Not only did Mary not ask for the experience, she was totally surprised by it.
• This is also always true of these God moments. They are connected to God’s favor. It was a great privilege for Mary to be chosen for this task. It’s a privilege any time God chooses one of us to help fulfil His purpose. They offer insights from God. Gabriel told Mary things about her future that she could not know.
• Our encounters with God may not include angels, but that doesn’t make them any less supernatural. They require us to say yes. When God invites us into what He’s doing, He is giving us a chance to partner with Him. But we must say yes to the partnership. They change your life and the lives of others.
• When God gives us an invitation and we choose to accept it, nothing in our lives will ever be the same again. Neither will the lives of the other people affected by our decision.
• God moments always put us off balance. They overwhelm us. They disrupt our lives. They make us uncomfortable. BUT … Whenever we are willing to trust God and say yes to Him, our lives take on new meaning and direction. We don’t want to miss that.
Focus: Life Lessons from Mary
I wonder what Mary’s life would have been like if she had said no to God instead of saying, “I am the servant girl of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!” Would Jesus have been born to another young woman in Nazareth? Would He still have been a carpenter? Would Mary have still recognized that Jesus was the Son of God? There’s no way to know. But here is the truth that Mary is saying to us….
I. “You Were Created to Be a Vessel for the Impossible”
“You are, I’m afraid, at a little bit of a disadvantage because you live in a time when people value facts more than they do truth. I think that causes many people to misunderstand God and what He desires for His people. We were not created for ordinary lives. We were created to be extraordinary. We are God’s instruments of impossibility. “What may be impossibility for us is just an opportunity for God. Miracles happen when our willingness to serve God intersects with His revealed plan. Knowing that should change your approach to every year, every day, every minute that you live.”
II. “When Your Moment Comes, Say Yes and Let God Figure Out the Rest”
“If you want God to do the impossible in your life, you cannot allow fear to cloud your view of God and what He can do. Your hope must weigh more than your questions. Your trust must be greater than your doubt. “When God invites you to do something for Him, don’t try to figure out how God will fulfil His purpose. It is a waste of time. The solution is God’s problem. Besides, God loves to surprise us. He’s creative. He does things we can’t imagine in our wildest dreams. Say yes, and then watch how He works it all out.”
III. “Your Yes Will Open the Door for God’s Best If You Let It”
“You will never regret saying yes to God. It’s true that when God gives us an opportunity to say yes to Him, we can see all the reasons to say no. All those negative ideas can be overwhelming. But you need to understand something: There are more reasons to say yes than to say no, but you can’t see them at that time. Only after we say yes are we able to see them. “We just need to have faith that God’s best always comes after we are obedient to Him. YOU WILL WITNESS AND EXPERIENCE The JOY OF A LIFETIME.
Challenge:
a. Stay Connected to God
Mary was a candidate for God’s blessing because she was close to God. And during her lifetime, she stayed close to God—literally, as she raised Jesus. But she wasn’t passive as she cared for Him. Luke says that when extraordinary things happened, Mary treasured them in her heart and pondered them. No matter how much or how little natural leadership talent God has given you, you cannot go wrong by staying connected to God. The ability to know and follow His direction always has much greater value than any human skill.
b. Stay Connected to Your Purpose
From the time before Jesus was even conceived, Mary knew her purpose. It was her purpose to bear, raise, nurture, and care for the Son of God. Raising any child isn’t easy. Having responsibility for Jesus must have weighed upon Mary heavily. But she bore it with grace, and she was faithful to the end. When you have doubts, face difficulties, or need to make tough decisions, don’t depart from your purpose. If you know why God has put you on earth, use that knowledge as a standard. If you don’t know your purpose, ask God to reveal it.
c. Stay Connected to People Who Encourage You
Soon after Mary learned that God was going to use her to do something extraordinary but very difficult, what did she do? She went to spend time with her cousin Elizabeth, with whom she was close. Elizabeth encouraged her and helped her get ready for what lay ahead. I believe that Jesus’s actions show that He also recognized the importance of encouragement to Mary. As He was dying on the cross, He asked His disciple John to take His place caring for Mary—and who better than John, the disciple Jesus loved, to care for the mother Jesus loved? The more difficult the circumstances, the more we need and benefit from the encouragement of others.
GOD BLESS YOU!
IBM
#GraceLife
acknowledgement: John Maxwell - wisdom from women in the bible
