The Faith ?Of Mary
Dr. Tim Smith?
Luke 1:26-38
Video: Why Is It Me. Why is it me God has asked? It must have been a question with which Mary wrestled. Mary has captured the attention and affection of generations of believers, but more importantly, she caught the attention of God! For she was chosen to become the mother of God’s only son.?
When she was chosen, Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph.?? Mary was perhaps 13 or 14. ?This must have been a wonderful time in life for Mary was making preparations for her wedding day. But the angel’s announcement threw her wedding plans into chaos.?? Suddenly, all those around her, including her own family began to doubt Mary and her faithfulness to Joseph. Where once she was looking forward to marriage, now she is faced with an impending divorce and public disgrace. And according to Old Testament Law the penalty for adultery was death by stoning! However, because Israel was under Roman domination, the Jews did not have the authority to carry out capital punishment. So women were humiliated in public to become an object of shame and scorn. If ever there was a time for faith, this was it.
The one thing which stands out in Mary above all others was her faith. But her faith didn’t start when the angel visited her or when she was confronted by her family and Joseph. It is Mary’s faith to which we look today, so that we might consider our own faith.
First, faith is not age-dependent. Age and maturity have nothing to do with the depth of faith you have. Mary was a barely a teenager when she believed the angel and agreed to carry the child. Many of the heroes of the faith in the Bible had a strong faith in God at an early age. Think of Samuel. God called him when he was but a young boy and he responded with childlike faith. Then there was David who as a teenager defeated Goliath because rather than fixing his eyes on the superior warrior, he saw the presence of the Lord with him. Then there was Daniel who was perhaps only 16 when he and his companions were taken into captivity. Yet, despite their youth, they had such a deep faith in the Lord they were willing to face death rather than worship false gods. ?Faith is not age-dependent! You don’t have to wait until you are old to become a hero of the faith. In fact, age will not guarantee anything at all. Many young people are more mature spiritually and more trusting of God than people decades older than them.
Second, faith leads to God’s presence in your life. The angel said to Mary, “The Lord is with you.” A personal relationship with God is what sets Biblical faith apart from the religions of the world. The writer of Hebrews, in describing faith said:? “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Heb 11:6 That reward is not money or possessions or an easier life but rather the presence of God in your life and the unmitigated joy of being used by God. ??
God never calls us and leaves us alone. The angel wanted Mary to know that she would not be alone as she undertook the task ahead. God always makes his presence known when He calls someone to serve him and they respond by taking a step of faith and doing what was asked, no matter how farfetched, how dangerous or how difficult. We see this throughout the Scriptures. The angel of the Lord told Gideon that the Lord would be with him when he was sent out to save Israel from the Midianites (Judges 6:12). The same thing had been said about David when God’s Spirit fell upon him and empowered him to lead Israel. ??As an unwed mother, Mary faced the possibility of rejection by Joseph, her own family and the community. But she would never be alone, for the Lord would be with her.?? In a similar way, those who follow Jesus are never alone. When Jesus commissioned us to make disciples of the nations, He reassured us that He would be with us to the very end of the age (Matt. 28:16-20). God will never call you to do something without providing the resources and support you need, including his presence.
Third, faith is a repeated choice. When the angel appeared to Mary and made her pronouncement, Mary had a choice to make. God didn’t draft Mary into her service but rather invited her to become a part of His plan of salvation for the world. Mary had a decision to make: she could either carry this child or she could choose to say no. That’s the way God is. He doesn’t force us to follow him and he doesn’t force us to serve Him. Rather, he has chosen to give us the free choice to believe in Him or not, to follow Him or not and to serve Him or not. Mary chose to respond to God’s love and believe in Him which then led her to choose to serve Him by carrying this child, even amidst very difficult curcumstances. We are reminded that faith is not a one time decision but rather is built decision by decision each day. Faith is about deciding how you’re going to respond to the boss who just blew up at you using language which would make a sailor blush. Faith is about how you respond when a friend who is disconnected from God is going through a rough time and is seeking spiritually. Faith is how you respond your world is falling apart. Faith is about what you do when you’re driving down the road and you see someone with a broken down car. Faith is about the attitude you bring and the response you make to the homeless person you pass by who is hungry for their next meal. Faith isn’t just about what or in whom you believe but how you live your life exercising that faith.
Fourth, with faith comes opportunity. When we choose to believe and make ourselves available to the work of God, God presents us with opportunities to be the heart and hands of Jesus for the world. An when he does, we have a decision of faith to make. Those opportunities require a response from us. We’re never drafted or forced to serve God but we are given the opportunities when we make ourselves available to him. Mary had made the choice of faith, that is to believe in God, to accept His gift of love, to seek to live for him and to trust him, long before God ever came to her with the proposition to carry His child. And it was because of her faith and her desire to serve God and do His will, that she was chosen.
It’s said that a crisis reveals character rather than builds it and I think the same can be said of faith. A crisis or even an overwhelming opportunity to do something great for God doesn’t build faith, although that can be a by-product of it, rather it reveals faith. Which I think raises a question, “What kind of Christian have you decided to be?” Are you a Sunday only Christian where you just worship God at church and then forget about him the rest of the day? Are you a secret agent Christian where you believe in God but never tell anyone about him nor let others know you are committed to Jesus? Are you a convenient Christian who worships God and serves others only when it is convenient for you and not too much of a sacrifice? Or are you a no holds barred, completely sold out, fully yielded Christian who seeks to worship God with every breath you take, every act you do and every word you speak and who wakes up every morning and says, “God, I don’t know what you have in store for me but I’m available. I trust you no matter what you may ask or what or whom you may send my way.” That’s the type of faith that God can use. When you have reached a point where your sole passion is to make a difference for God and serve him, it is then he can begin to use you to do great things for Him. It is then that opportunities to serve God will come your way.
Fifth, with faith, all things are possible. Mary was a virgin when the angel visited her and a virgin cannot have a child. That in and of itself was an obstacle which seemingly could not be overcome…..in the eyes of the world. And yet we worship a God who is first and foremost the Creator. Mary’s virginity wasn’t even a minor issue for God, in comparison to creating the universe and all that lives in it. Mary’s experience reminds us that no matter what obstacles you may face, no matter what opposition might rise up and no matter how dark the future might seem, nothing is impossible with God. For Jesus said, “Have faith in God…..I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ’Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:22-24 If you’re facing losing a job and finding new work or if you’re overwhelmed by debt and rising bills or if you’re in the midst of a broken relationship or a marriage which is hanging on by a thread or if you’re facing a crisis because of some bad decisions you’ve made in the past, remember nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible for God. All you have to do is have faith and believe in God’s promise that He will not leave you and that he will always provide for your every need. What you’re facing now is just an opportunity for you to exercise his faith and for you to allow God to be God of your life.
And if you want to be used by God and to participate in His plan of salvation, whether that be to touch a life, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to be a friend to lonely, to heal a broken heart, or to change the course of someone’s eternity, it starts with believing in God and His power and His trustworthiness. Because when you come to faith and completely surrender to Him, and God calls, absolutely nothing will thwart, interfere or defeat God’s plan of salvation. And you have the opportunity to not only know that but to experience it firsthand.
??Sixth, faith leads to courage. Last week, we spoke of the courage of Joseph but in Mary we see the courageous decisions of faith as well. ?Try to imagine what the experience was like for Mary: Her world was about to be shattered. She would have to face her fiancé, her family and her neighbors with the news that she was pregnant – news which meant she could be stoned for adultery. Try to hear his words as Mary first heard them, “You will be with child and give birth to a son.” For most, it is a joyful moment when we hear that we are pregnant but to discover that you’re pregnant while married and you haven’t consummated the relationship and you’re still virgin, that’s quite another. Mary could not have fully understood what she was told by the angel or what lie ahead of her. What first time mother ever understands what it really means to have a child, let alone that he would be divine and would serve as King over a never-ending kingdom? All of this was astonishing news and led to an incredible decision of faith she had to make.
While Mary would have been greatly troubled, bewildered by the angel’s words and understandably afraid, she knew that this was a great risk which would bring misunderstanding, false assumptions, gossip and judgment from others. And yet t?he angel told Mary to not be afraid and reassured her that she had found favor with God. That’s what leads to courageous faith decisions: knowing God’s will and knowing God, that is, that He will be with you and provide you with whatever you need to accomplish His will. And so with quiet faith Mary accepted the angel’s explanation and submitted herself to the Lord.??? ??Knowing the enormous price she was about to pay, Mary surrendered herself first to the Lord and then to His plan. Notice that although we have made much of the cost to Mary, she says not a word of it! ??She said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” With absolute trust Mary bows herself to the will of God and declares herself to be His servant. Her words must have brought great joy to the God’s heart, “May it be to me as you have said..” God has always longed for His people to give themselves so unreservedly to Him.?? ???
Faith is a response to an invitation by God to receive his gift of grace and participate in His plan of salvation.?? For the Christian, faith is never a blind leap! It is always an informed step of trust because you know the one in whom you believe. But it is a risk, not because of God but a risk in whether we will believe in God and trust in him. Faith is a journey of repeated choices we make day in and day out to believe and obey God’s call on our lives. ??The only question is how you’ll respond. Jesus told us that without Him we can do nothing but that if we connect ourselves to Him the way a branch connects to a vine, then with Him nothing is impossible. How is God calling you to show faith this Christmas season? What is he calling you to do? May you follow the example of Mary this Christmas!
Some portions of this sermon were taken from "The Faith of Mary" sermon for the The Nativity Story series
