God Comes Near Luke 1:26-38
Sermon by: Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church Dec. 11, 2005
*Christmas is a time when God came near...
-And God comes near today.
*Joe McKeever told the story of a little girl named Rachel
-Like many preschoolers, Rachel had a problem waking up in the middle of the night, scared & crying... --The only thing that would sooth her fears was crawling into bed with her mom & dad.
*But Mom had to go out of town for a few days on business...
-That’s when Dad came up with a new solution:
-Rachel, I have an idea... -While Mom is away...
--Suppose I sleep in your room on the top bunk bed.
*She thought it was a great idea... -And that night, Rachel went to sleep on time.
*A couple of hours later, when her dad crawled into the top bunk, she was sound asleep... -And she slept like that all night.
*The next morning, Dad congratulated her on a full night’s sleep...
-It’s because you were in the room with me, she said.
*But how did you know I was there? Dad asked.
-You were asleep when I came in & you never woke up the whole night
*Rachel answered: -Because you said you would be there. (1)
*Church, Jesus said He would be here with us today...
-In Matt 18:20, He said:
--Where 2 or 3 are gathered together in My name,
I am there in the midst of them.’
*He is here today... -God comes near...
*And this part of the Christmas story helps us see why.
1. God comes near to reveal the divine dimension to you.
-(We see this in vs. 26-28...)
A. I wonder what Mary was doing before Gabriel got there...
*Maybe she had just finished her breakfast...
-Maybe she was making wedding plans or washing clothes or cooking supper
-Maybe she had just laid down for a good night’s sleep...
B. But God can turn ordinary days into extraordinary days.
*And that’s what He wants to do in your life.
-He wants to reveal the Divine dimension of life to you.
*Many people believe that the natural world is all there is...
-But if this was just a natural world...
-If all this world consisted of was just what we could see & smell & hear & taste & touch... -If it was just 70 or 90 or even 100 years & then the end...
--There would be no point in living at all...
C. But there is much more to life than meets the eye...
*And God comes near with amazing authority...
-Sometimes He sends His angels...
--But His Holy Spirit is always here with us...
D. And God comes near, just like He came to Mary...
-To expand your perspective... *To give you a new dream...
*To give you a God-sized dream...
*To give you a divine view of your destiny.
*What a difference that makes!
2. God comes near to reveal the divine dimension to you...
*And He comes near with an answer for your anxiety.
-(We can see this in vs. 29-30)
A. Mary was troubled...
*That word means she was greatly troubled, disturbed, agitated & alarmed...
-Who wouldn’t be if he saw an angel in all of his glory?
B. But the angel said: Fear not
*God had a good word for Mary...
-And God has a good word for your worried heart...
--He has an answer for your anxiety.
BI. James Michaelson is a Chr psychologist who tells about counseling a woman who felt lonely and abandoned...
*One day she was explaining how she felt...
-But James couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying...
--Bec a Scripture kept running through his mind: Ps 100:3
-It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves.
*This verse had no apparent connection with her problem,
-But James couldn’t stop thinking about it.
*After she finished talking, she sat in silence waiting for a response...
-Dr. Michaelson didn’t know what to say other than to quote the verse...
--Although it might sound foolish since it seemed unrelated to her problem.
*Dr. Michaelson said:
-I think God wants you to know something...
-It is He who has made us & not we ourselves...
--Does that mean anything to you?
*The woman immediately broke down and cried...
-But after she composed herself, she explained:
-I didn’t tell you this, but my mother got pregnant with me before she was married.
-All my life I believed that I was a mistake... --An unplanned accident...
-And that God didn’t create me
*Now I know that God created me & that I’m not a mistake.
-I’ll never be the same again! (2)
C. God had a word for that woman...
*And God has an encouraging Word for you...
-Pick it up & read it... --And you will see...
3. God comes near with an answer for your anxiety...
*He also comes near to teach you the truth about His Kingdom.
-(We see this in vs. 31-35...)
A. God comes near to teach you the truth about his Kingdom
1-And the truth is that God wants to save your soul...
A. In vs. 31, call his name Jesus...
*Bec even His name means Jehovah is salvation
B. And in vs. 32, JC is the Son of the Highest... -Jesus is God the Son!
*God became a man...
-Conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary
-Born in Bethlehem to die on the Cross for our sins
-Risen from the dead to reign over an everlasting Kingdom
*As vs. 33 says: -He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever...
-And of his kingdom there shall be no end.
C. Jesus Christ has an everlasting Kingdom...
*And He wants you to be a part of it...
-He wants to be your Lord & Savior...
--And today He is reaching out to you.
CI. James Borror told the story of a little boy named Kyle...
-Young Kyle was rehearsing a choir song about God & heaven.
*When he finished, he seemed a little worried & asked his grandmother this question: -If we’re down here and God’s up there...
--How are we going to get to heaven?
*Kyle’s grandmother thought about it & said:
-When the time comes, God will reach down & help us.
*When she said that, Kyle looked up at the sky & said:
-God must have long arms! (3)
D. And He does!
*Long enough to reach out & die for the sins of the whole world...
-Long enough to reach out & save your soul today...
--If you will open your heart to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior & Lord.
2-That’s the Kingdom truth...
*And the 2nd truth is that God wants to stretch your spiritual life...
A. The angel said: -Mary, you’re going to have a baby!
*And in vs. 34, Mary said: -Urrrhhhh? -How can this be?
B. Of course, God had the answer for her in vs. 35...
*But what I want you to see is that God comes near to stretch your faith...
C. All of your life God is trying to get you to trust Him more.
*So he will definitely put you in situations where you will have to trust Him.
CI. Friday, I saw 2 radiant examples of faith at Glenwood Regional Medical Center... *The 1st was Betty Sawyer...
-Going home with a broken ankle & wheel-chair bound.
--Betty can’t put any weight on her ankle for 8 weeks...
*But she was positive & praising the Lord...
-And able to see the good that had come out of breaking her ankle!
*Then there was Effie Jane Martin...
-Doing her best to help Doug recover from his stroke...
--And he is getting better...
*But Effie is looking for him to keep getting better...
-And she sees how the Lord is helping them get through all of this.
D. Both of those women have radiant faith... *Their trust in the Lord just glowed... -That’s the way God wants us to be. --So He will stretch our faith.
3-That’s the Kingdom truth...
*And the 3rd truth is that God wants to plug you into His purpose...
A. Mary didn’t know it...
*But God had a vital purpose for her in His Kingdom plan...
-And today God wants you to see that you have a vital purpose in His plan.
B. No, we could never do what Mary did for the Lord...
*But she could never do what we can do for the Lord today!
-God wants to plug you into His purpose...
--That’s the Kingdom truth.
4. He comes near to teach you the truth about His Kingdom.
*And to give hope to the hopeless... (See in vs. 36-37)
A. Elizabeth was way too old to have a baby: It’s hopeless
-It’ll never happen...
B. But with God nothing will be impossible! *What a great verse!
-It gives hope to the hopeless.
--And that’s what God wants to do in our lives...
BI. I think of 6-year-old Joshua Woods, who was killed Thursday night when a 737 jet skidded off the runway in Chicago. *It crushed the family’s car...
-Dad had taken Central Ave. because traffic was so heavy on the road they normally took to Grandma’s house...
C. So here is this little kindergarten kid...
-Eating chicken nuggets...
-Singing a Christmas song on the way to Grandma’s...
--Killed by a freak accident 2 weeks before Christmas...
*It seems like a hopeless situation...
-But God can give hope to the hopeless.
CI. Norman Vincent Peale told about another Christmas many years ago...
*It was in the early days of his ministry in Brooklyn, NY.
*One Christmas Eve he was out visiting some families...
-And as Dr. Peale passed a door, he noticed 2 things...
-A red ribbon for Christmas & a black wreath for mourning.
*The people who lived there were not members of Dr. Peale’s church...
-But he decided to knock on the door anyway...
-And the father of the family came to the door.
*Dr. Peale was invited in...
-And inside he saw a small casket where a 6-year-old girl was lying in state.
*When Dr. Peale gave his Christian sympathy to the family... -The father said:
--Dr. Peale, it’s going to be all right, for she is with God, you know.
*Then he heard the mother of the family reading the Bible to their 2 little boys...
-And Dr. Peale heard these words of Jesus Christ:
--Because I live, you shall live also. (4)
D. That’s real hope for the hopeless...
5. God comes near to give hope to the hopeless...
*And to find servants with faith to follow the Lord...
A. Mary shows us this kind of faith in v. 38, where she said
-Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word.
*In other words:
-I am the servant of the Lord...
-May His will be done in my life just as you have said.
B. Mary had a faith that was willing to follow the Lord...
*And that is the kind of faith that God wants us to have.
-A faith that follows.
BI. Donald Miller told the story of a group of Navy SEALs who went on a mission to free some hostages. *The team flew in by helicopter
-Made their way to the compound... --And stormed into the room where the hostages had been imprisoned for months.
*The room was dark & filthy... -The hostages were terrified...
--Curled up in a corner when the SEALs entered the room.
*They stood at the door & kept calling out to the hostages...
-Telling them they were Americans & asking the hostages to follow them...
*But the hostages wouldn’t budge...
-They sat there on the floor & hid their eyes in fear...
-Not believing their rescuers were really Americans.
*The SEALs stood there, not knowing what to do...
-They couldn’t possibly carry everybody out...
--Then one of the SEALs got an idea...
*He put down his weapon, took off his helmet...
-And curled up tightly next to the hostages...
--He got so close his body was touching some of theirs.
*He softened the look on his face & put his arms around them.
-He was trying to show them he was one of them.
--None of the prison guards would have done this...
*He stayed there until some of the hostages started to look at him...
-Finally meeting his eyes.
*The Navy SEAL whispered that they were Americans & were there to rescue them... -Will you follow us? He said. --And they did. (5)
C. But you see... *That is what God did for us...
*God came near... -Christ came down to us...
--And He even went to the Cross for us.
D. So that we could follow Him
*So that we would follow Him...
-Every day of our life... --Safely home, all the way to Heaven.
Conclu: *God comes near!
-Have you seen that yet?
-Have you put your trust in Him yet?
-Do you have His hope?
-Are you following Jesus?
1. Adapted from KERUX ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION ID Number: 9963 SOURCE: Baptist Press, TITLE: Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real AUTHOR: Rev. Joe McKeever; First Baptist Church of Kenner, Louisiana DATE: 10/22/02
2. Adapted from Sermon: Loved by the Father by King Duncan Gal 3 26-29, quoting Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind, But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, p. 84.
3. Unknown source quoting James J. Borror (in Presbyterians Today)
4. Bible Illustrator Topic: Love / Subtopic: Of Christ for Men / Index: 2203 Date: 7/1998.1496 / Title: Christ’s Love Is for Keeps
5. Adapted from Sermon Central illustration Contributed by: Mike Wilkins
