How to Respond to God
Part 3 of 4 in the series, Christmas Calms Our Fears
Last week we reflected on the pronouncement of the angel to Zechariah that the prayers of he and his wife Elizabeth had been heard and that they were going to have a son. Let’s pick up the story in the first chapter of Luke’s Good News account.
Luke 1:26 (NCV) During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin. 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 startled by what the angel said and wondered what this greeting might mean. 30 The angel said to her, "Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace. 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. The Lord God will give him the throne of King David, his ancestor. 33 He will rule over the people of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How will this happen since 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. For this reason the baby will be holy and will be called the Son of God. 36 Now Elizabeth, your relative, is also pregnant with a son though she is very old. Everyone thought she could not have a baby, but she has been pregnant for six months. 37 God can do anything!" 38 Mary said, "I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!" Then the angel went away.
Consider the world into which Jesus was born. It was a time of spiritual darkness. It had been four hundred years since the last Old Testament prophet penned God’s inspired words. The tyranny of Rome captivated the "civilized" world and the carry over from Greek culture included many immoral and unfulfilling philosophies.
And yet, instead of sighing, "Look what the world has come to!" the Bible says, "Look what has come to the world!" (E. Stanley Jones)
With the light of Jesus - darkness met its match! The Good News of the birth of Christ is very positive and uplifting and that’s how Mary received it.
She could have been fearful. As a poor young woman (most believe still in her teens) she could have been overwhelmed by her circumstances. She could have been filled with apprehension at the message of the angel that she, a young virgin, would bear God’s Son.
Instead, the way she responds to God is an example to us all!
So today I want you to further explore Mary’s response to God so that you may discover how you should respond to God.
Three Essential Ways to Respond to God:
1. Respond to God with humility.
Look at Mary’s response when she heard the incredible news that she, as a poor young virgin, would give birth to the Son of God.
Luke 1:38 (NCV) "I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!"
Humility is all about how you see yourself - and Mary saw herself as a servant. That’s one of the reasons God chose her. God can’t and won’t use proud people to do His work. Proud people get themselves in the way. If you aren’t yielded to God and you think you can handle things on your own your pride will inflate your ego to the point you believe you don’t need God and you will eventually make a mess of things.
Humility in service to God is one of the underlying themes of Christmas.
When God picked a town for Christ to be born in He picked the one camel town of Bethlehem and a cattle stall as the birthing room in that town. When the angels announced Christ’s birth it was to the humble shepherds – not to Herod in the Jerusalem palace. When He needed a servant to bear His Son He chose a humble young woman from Nazareth.
God hasn’t changed. He’s still looking for big commitments from people small in their own eyes.
Proverbs 3:34 (GNT) He (God) has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.
It really shouldn’t be that difficult for any of us to be humble. It’s a matter of perspective.
William Beebe, the naturalist, used to tell how he and Teddy Roosevelt would go out on the lawn together after an evening of talk. They would search the skies for a certain spot of light near the lower left-hand corner of the Great Square of Pegasus. Then Roosevelt would say, "That is the Spiral Galaxy in Andromeda. It is as large as our Milky Way. It is one of a hundred million galaxies. It consists of one hundred billion suns, each larger than our sun."
Then Roosevelt would grin and say; "Now I think we are small enough! Let’s go to bed."
"They that know God will be humble,and they that know themselves cannot be proud." (John Flavel)
What does it mean to be humble?
Andrew Murray said, "The humble man feels no jealousy or envy. He can praise God when others are preferred and blessed before him. He can bear to hear others praised while he is forgotten because ... he has received the spirit of Jesus, who pleased not Himself, and who sought not His own honor. Therefore, in putting on the Lord Jesus Christ he has put on the heart of compassion, kindness, meekness, longsuffering, and humility."
In the year 59, the Apostle Paul penned these words: "I am the least of the apostles." (1 Corin. 15:9)
Four years later, in the year 63, he wrote: "I am the very least of all the saints." (Eph. 3:8)
And a year after that: "I am the foremost of sinners." (1 Tim. 1:15)
As Paul matured he thought less of himself. Your growth in grace will reveal a similar pattern.
Even though a young woman, Mary possessed the humility of spirit that God blesses.
Luke 1:30 (NCV) The angel said to her, "Don’t be afraid, Mary; God has shown you his grace.
Grace is favor. God favors the humble. (As we saw in Proverbs 3:24) God blesses the humble. He uses the humble to accomplish His tasks. He works in cooperation with the humble.
God will ask you to participate in His plans to help others. You can tell God to bug off or you can do what Mary did. You can say, "I am the servant of the Lord. Let this happen to me as you say!"
When you approach God – make sure it is with humility. If you want God to work in your life you must practice humility.
The second essential way to respond to God that Mary exhibited and that you and I need to duplicate is not any less important.
2. Respond to God with faith.
Luke 1:39 (NCV) Mary got up and went quickly to a town in the hills of Judea. 40 She came to Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She cried out in a loud voice, "God has blessed you more than any other woman, and he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth. 43 Why has this good thing happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 When I heard your voice, the baby inside me jumped with joy. 45 You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen." 46 Then Mary said, "My soul praises the Lord; 47 my heart rejoices in God my Savior, 48 because he has shown his concern for his humble servant girl. From now on, all people will say that I am blessed, 49 because the Powerful One has done great things for me. His name is holy. 50 God will show his mercy forever and ever to those who worship and serve him. 51 He has done mighty deeds by his power. He has scattered the people who are proud and think great things about themselves. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones and raised up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with nothing. 54 He has helped his servant, the people of Israel, remembering to show them mercy 55 as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his children forever." 56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
Luke 1:45 (NCV) (Elizabeth to Mary) "You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen."
If you think it was easier for Mary to trust God in her circumstances than it is for you in yours you’re only fooling yourself. Think about it – She believed that she was going to have a baby even though she was a virgin! Why? Because God said so!
Has God ever asked you to believe something that required more faith than that? I don’t think so!
Mary believed God’s message to her through the angel. She is one of the sterling examples in Scripture of what God is looking for.
Habakkuk 2:4 (NLT) Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked; but the righteous will live by their faith.
Hebrews 11:6 (NCV) Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.
Faith honors God and God honors faith!
A story from the life of missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat illustrates this truth.
For 10 years this couple labored faithfully in Bechuanaland (now called Botswana) without one ray of encouragement to brighten their way. They could not report a single convert. Finally the directors of their mission board began to question the wisdom of continuing the work. The thought of leaving their post, however, brought great grief to this devoted couple, for they felt sure that God was in their labors, and that they would see people turn to Christ in due season. They stayed; and for a year or two longer, darkness reigned. Then one day a friend in England sent word to the Moffats that she wanted to mail them a gift and asked what they would like. Trusting that in time the Lord would bless their work, Mrs. Moffat replied, "Send us a communion set; I am sure it will soon be needed." God honored that dear woman’s faith. The Holy Spirit moved upon the hearts of the villagers, and soon a little group of six converts was united to form the first Christian church in that land. The communion set from England was delayed in the mail; but on the very day before the first commemoration of the Lord’s super in Bechuanaland, the set arrived. (Paul Fritz – Sermon Central)
"Some things have to be believed to be seen." (Ralph Hodgson.)
Mary believed that what the Lord said to her would really happen – and it did!
You and I need to respond to God that way. When the Word of God makes a promise we need to believe that what God says will really happen.
"Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts."
Respond to God with faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him.
3. Respond to God with praise.
Luke 1:46 (NCV) Then Mary said, "My soul praises the Lord."
This is amazing! Mary not only believes God enough to completely trust what He has communicated to her – her faith is so strong that she praises God as if the birth of His Son has already taken place!
What is your initial response when God allows you to face a situation that calls for you to trust completely in Him? Do you doubt? Are you filled with a woe-is-me attitude? Do you begin to feel sorry for yourself and start questioning God with "why me?"
Do you struggle with inner peace because of your worry? The most important step in developing inner peace is to quit complaining and start praising!
If you have learned the wrong thought process you need to learn how to think properly about life’s challenges. You need to reprogram your mind to think of praise when times get tough instead of thinking depressing thoughts. How did Mary do it?
How could Mary praise the Lord when faced with a promise from God that flew in the face of four thousand years of man’s history? The only other man who ever existed without a human father was the first man, Adam. Now God is asking Mary to trust Him that He is going to bring the second Adam into the world by way of a virgin birth.
Instead of being perplexed Mary was filled with praise!
That should be your response and my response when we face uncertain times and uncertain situations. But how did Mary do it? How can we do it? I think there’s only one way. If it’s not your natural response then you need to practice making it your natural response.
Mary Lou Retton catapulted to international fame at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, becoming the first American woman ever to win the Gold Medal in the All-Around in women’s gymnastics. In 1993, almost a decade after her Los Angeles triumph, an Associated Press national survey named her the "Most Popular Athlete in America." When asked about the secret of her success, Mary Lou said, "To be a complete gymnast, someone should be able to sneak up and drag you out at midnight, push you out on some strange floor – and you should be able to do your entire routine sound asleep in your pajamas. That’s the secret. It’s got to be a natural reaction."
How did she make it her "natural reaction?" By spending ountless hours in the gym practicing, gymnastics became as natural to Mary Lou as breathing.
If you and I want praise to come natural to us in tough times we must practice praising God in good times until it becomes second nature, until it becomes something we do almost without thinking.
I’m saying that praise was not something that Mary worked up. It wasn’t a fleshly endeavor. It came natural to her. Her praise was a genuine response to the fact that God had chosen her to be the vessel used to bring the Messiah into the world. And it comes natural when you live a life of praise.
Praying and praise are two things a lot of people have got messed up ideas about. If you think you’re only supposed to pray when you’re in trouble and praise when everything is going great – then you’ve got the wrong idea. You are supposed to pray and praise all the time!
Praise is one of the few things we do on earth that we will still do in heaven! We’re only in rehearsal right now. But soon the greatest choir ever amassed is going to be singing honor and glory to God in the highest. If you want to be an integral part of that choir start by praising God now. Make it a regular habit in your life.
How are you responding to God?
1)Are you responding to Him with humility?
2)Are you responding to Him with faith?
3)Are you responding to Him with praise?
Let’s all stand as we pray together.
If you’re not already a follower of Christ you need to respond to God in humility, faith and praise right now. Humble yourself before God and tell Him that you admit that you need Him in your life. Ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your heart because of what Jesus did on the cross – dying in your place for your sins. Place your trust in Him today by making a faith commitment. You could pray something like this from your heart:
"Dear God, I know that I need you in my life. Please forgive my sins and change my life from one of walking alone to one of walking with you. I place my faith in Jesus right now. I believe that what He did on the cross was to die for my sins. I want to praise you for loving me so much."
If you’re already a follower of Christ would you respond to Him with humility today? In faith? In praise? Do you need to change some things about how you respond to God every day? Do you need to practice praising God all of the time? Do you desire to humble yourself in prayer, kneeling here at the front of the auditorium? Feel free to come.
While they are coming is there someone who prayed to receive Christ that would like to come also?
