INTRODUCTION
- Have you ever received a gift that was interesting to you, it piqued your curiosity, yet you did not know precisely what it was?
- Then someone explains the gift to you, and you find it useful, yet because you do not fully understand it, you do not use it to its full capacity?
- For me, Excel is like that, I can use it, I can do basic things and some things above a little above the basics, but I do not know the software well enough to maximize its potential.
- When you think about a gift we can receive that we do not always understand well enough to make the most of it, I think we can make a case that Jesus would fit the description.
- During Christmas, we focus on Jesus being born in Bethlehem, in a manger, on a wonderful day around 5 B.C.
- We sing songs about His birth and rightfully acknowledge Him as God who took on the form of humanity, yet do we grasp what this Christmas day we celebrate means for us?
- God created humanity, He walked in the garden with Adam and Eve, eventually, Adam and Eve sinned against God, and it has been downhill ever since.
- Sin separates us from God.
- God did something to bridge that separation.
- God created us so that we could have fellowship with Him.
- He created us so we can be a part of His family, yet what sin did to separate us from God, Jesus did something extraordinary for us.
- What God did through Jesus was done in the name of love.
- God loves you and wants to be with you for eternity!
- Are there people in life whom we want to be with?
- There is something about spending time with people.
- Not just a virtual hangout or staying connected via phone, text, or social media, but being physically in the same place as other people.
- The year of the pandemic, 2020, taught the world the power of being physically present at events, school, and work and being with people we enjoy.
- Human beings like that aspect of personal time with others.
- The incarnation of Jesus reveals the importance of God being with humanity.
- God came to us for a reason.
- Jesus came to us being born of a woman, becoming like us for a reason.
- When we begin to grasp why Jesus came, it will help us to understand how important the gift of salvation we can receive from Him can be.
- As we begin to understand Jesus, we will be able to utilize better the gift Jesus offers us and Jesus Himself.
- As you get to know Jesus in a deep way. it will change your life.
- As that process of change takes place in your life, the way you see life will change right along with it.
- Big Idea of the Message: The incarnation shows God dwelling with and loving broken humanity and the importance of being with others even in their brokenness.
- Let’s turn to Luke 1:30-33
Luke 1:30–33 (NET 2nd ed.)
30 So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!
31 Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
SERMON
I. The promise of His presence.
A. The Announcement of the Angel (Luke 1:30)
- Let’s back up a couple of verses.
Luke 1:26–30 (NET 2nd ed.)
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!”
29 But she was greatly troubled by his words and began to wonder about the meaning of this greeting.
30 So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!
- In verse 28, Gabriel begins the conversation with Mary by saying, GREETING FAVORED WOMEN. THE LORD IS WITH YOU.
- Here is Mary.
- She may have been as young as 14 and most likely not over 18.
- We know nothing about Mary; she was not famous, she was not someone others hoped to be, she was a simple woman who, in the eyes of the world, was little to no consequence in life.
- However, to God, Mary was special!
- God knew Mary, and guess what?
- God knows you also!
- I cannot imagine what is happening in Mary’s head now.
- Verse 29 states that Mary was troubled by the appearance of Gabriel.
- The first word, SCARED!
- How would you feel if an Angel of the Lord stood before you?
- The Angel of the Lord Gabriel approaches Mary.
- That would be intimidating on its own.
- It would get worse for her once Gabriel shares the message from God with her.
- Mary could have been stoned to death for getting pregnant before being married to Joseph.
- In that culture, her life was on the line.
- She was engaged to Joseph; the engagement period usually lasted around a year.
- During the engagement, the woman lives with friends and family, and her contact with her husband has to be chaperoned, so they make sure she stays a virgin until they are married.
- Being engaged was legally almost the same as marriage.
- In verse 30 of our text, sensing Mary’s fear, Gabriel tells Mary not to be afraid.
- This was even before he was going to share the life-changing news with her.
- Mary has been told she found favor with God, leading to the next step.
B. The Assurance of His Birth (Luke 1:31)
- The name Jesus means Jehovah is salvation!
- His birth is not just a historical event but a divine promise of salvation,
- This goes right to the heat of the Gospel message that God desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth! 1 Timothy 2:3-4.
- The birth of Jesus will also fulfill God’s long-standing promise concerning the coming of Jesus.
Isaiah 7:14 (NET 2nd ed.)
14 For this reason the Lord himself will give you a confirming sign. Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.
- The assurance of His birth brings hope to all of humanity!
C. The Authority of His Kingship (Luke 1:32)
- Jesus is called the Son of the Most High!
- The Son of the Most High is the title given by the demoniac (Mark 5:7) to Jesus, suggesting that this is one of the titles given to the Son of God throughout the unseen world of angels and demons
- God is exalted over everything, and Jesus is in the same position.
- Jesus will fulfill the promise God made to David.
- The promise to David was that there should not fail a man to sit on his throne or that his throne should be perpetual (I Kings 2:4, 8:25, 9:51 2 Chronicles 6:16, 2 Samuel 7:11-ff).
- Peter tells us that this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus Acts 2:32-36.
- Jesus is not just a good moral teacher but God Himself.
- The incarnation shows that Jesus is equal to God and, therefore, has lordship over the world that God created.
- Let’s turn back to our passage again.
Luke 1:30–33 (NET 2nd ed.)
30 So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!
31 Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
II. The purpose of His coming.
A. Jesus came to Save Humanity from Sin (Luke 1:31)
- The very name of Jesus gives us this insight from verse 31: Jehovah or God is salvation.
- Look at what Matthew says about this fact.
Matthew 1:21 (NET 2nd ed.)
21 She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
- Matthew spells it out for us.
- Jesus has the power to save and transform your life!
- Only the real Jesus can do that in your life; fantasy Jesus, the Jesus you construct in your mind, can do nothing for you.
- The only sure path to salvation is found in Jesus.
John 14:6 (NET 2nd ed.)
6 Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:12 (NET 2nd ed.)
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”
- Another purpose for Jesus' coming was:
B. To Establish His Kingdom (Luke 1:32)
- Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God, which is so different from and so much better than the earthly realm in which we currently live.
- Jesus came to open the door to the Kingdom of Heaven for us!
C. Jesus also came to Fulfill Prophecy and Hope (Luke 1:33)
- We could spend the rest of our lives digging into this one.
- According to Josh McDowell’s book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, approximately 300 Old Testament Messianic prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus.
- Some scholars would say as many as 500 were fulfilled.
- Given that all 300 or so were fulfilled in Jesus, we have hope.
- We are not in the position that the Apostles who lived when Jesus did actually talk and walk with Him.
- We have to rely on other means found in the Bible.
- The Apostles were not sold out to Jesus until after the resurrection!
- The birth of Jesus brought hope into the world.
- Let’s go to the passage one more time.
Luke 1:30–33 (NET 2nd ed.)
30 So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!
31 Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”
III. The power of His reign.
- I will keep this point short.
A. The Everlasting Nature of His Kingdom (Luke 1:33)
- Notice that the Kingdom of God is eternal; it will never end!
- This world will end with the coming of the Lord, and not one minute sooner.
- When we enter the Kingdom of God, it will be an eternal home of true joy and happiness!
B. The power of His reign has impact on our lives today.
- Salvation is not just about eternal life but also about the life we live here on earth.
- Imagine a world where there is no God.
- Think about how the world changed with the coming of Jesus.
- Think about the impact Jesus has had on your life and how you impact others.
- The Lordship of Jesus changes everything about you.
- And finally, we also have…
C. The Invitation to Experience His Rule.
- We all have the opportunity to experience the rules in our lives.
- Someone is ruling your life, the question is who?
- If you allow Jesus to reign in your life, life will never be the same.
- Yes, you will experience troubles in this life, good times and bad; however, Jesus will help you through it!
CONCLUSION
- Why would God want to be with us?
- The great story of Christmas is that in the baby Jesus, we see God loves humanity so much that he wants to be with us.
- It is through being with us that God can show us how to live, die on our behalf, rise from the dead, and redeem our lives to heal the world's brokenness.
- We can be present with others, even in their brokenness, and show love and redemption.
