The Joy of Mary’s FaithThe Joy of Mary’s Faith
The Blessings of Just Believing!
Luke 1:26-54
Dec 14, 2014 AM
Pastor
Craig Ledbetter
Bible
Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I.
Introduction (Luke
1:26)
A.
This is one of the
most well known events in the Bible to the Irish people
B.
The Annunciation –
the Announcement by an Angel to Mary, of her giving birth to the Son of God –
the Hail Mary, as some people call it!
C.
But this is NOT a
prayer to pray, but an actual Christmas event to learn from
D.
What you will find,
is that, in every event surrounding the birth of the Messiah, whenever faith is
at work, there is joy!
II.
Background (Luke
1:26-38)
A.
An Angel Greets Mary
(Luke 1:26-33)
1.
Six months into the
pregnancy of Elisabeth – we learned about
this last week…
2.
The very same angel
(Gabriel) that had told Elizabeth and Zacharias that THEY were going to have a
miracle birth…
3.
Now appeared to a
woman way up in a little town called Nazareth
4.
Her name… was Mary
5.
She was a VIRGIN
– by the way, that was NOT unusual back then. It IS unusual today! But it wasn’t
back then!
a.
She had saved her
best for her future husband
b.
Not thrown her body
to the first DOG that winked at her, or drooled at her “beauty”
c.
She stayed a virgin
until marriage
6.
Espoused
(engaged) to a good man named Joseph – NOT an old man, but a young man, in love
with Mary, eager to get married and start a family!
a.
Hail! Greetings!
Howdy! Hi!
b.
Thou art highly
favoured – you are cherished by God
c.
And you are a very
special blessed woman – NOT lucky, but blessed!
7.
The Angel
Terrified Mary
a.
That a man would
just appear right in front of her would scare anybody
b.
He just started
talking to her, and greeting her by name – this angel knew her name (1:30)!
8.
Praised!
Then he praises Mary
a.
“Don’t fear!” Don’t
be afraid
b.
You are not in
trouble with God
c.
You have a very good
reputation with God
9.
Makes a
Promise to her – makes quite a few promises
a.
You will become
pregnant
b.
And you will give
birth to a Son
c.
And you will call
him, JESUS – which means Jehovah Saves!
d.
He shall be great
e.
He will be the Son
of God
f.
He will sit as King
on David’s throne
g.
He will reign for
ever and ever and ever
B.
Mary Points Out A
Problem – How is this going to happen? (Luke 1:34)
1.
Mary raises her
hand, like in school, and reminds the angel…
2.
Uh, there is one
little problem…
3.
I am not married
4.
AND I am still a
virgin!
5.
So, HOW is this
going to work?
6.
It’s a great
question. Because a virgin birth is impossible!
C.
The Angel Reminds
Mary WHO is at Work (Luke 1:35-37)
1.
The angel gently
explains, in simple words…
a.
What is about to
happen to you, is not something to understand or to see, but to be in awe of!
b.
The power of the
Holy Ghost will come upon you
c.
And He will
overshadow you
2.
And because you will
become pregnant, even though a virgin, that will prove the child is the Son of
God
3.
The fulfilment of a
prophecy made over 700 years earlier in Isaiah 7:14
4.
AND, by the way,
your cousin Elisabeth is pregnant too! Another miracle!
5.
For with God, with
God’s help, NOTHING shall be impossible!
6.
You see, God never
worries about the problems. WE do, but God doesn’t
D.
And That Settled It
(1:38)
1.
If God says it, if
the Scripture promises it, if it is God’s will, then THAT settles it!
2.
Mary says, “I yield!
You win! I believe you!”
3.
“Let it be just as
you said – give me the baby!”
4.
No debate, No
argument, No more questions!
5.
Belief is not
something you just do with your brain, but with all your heart
a.
The brain says,
“This is impossible.”
b.
The heart says, “But
God said it would happen.”
c.
The brain says, “But
there is just no way.”
d.
The heart says,
“Well, I believe God will MAKE a way.”
6.
So, Faith is…
a.
Not understandable,
not explainable
b.
Is in response to
the will of God, not to what YOU want
c.
Something that
pleases God the most – just to believe Him, take Him at His word (Heb 11:6)
d.
Turns into obedience
e.
Always rewarded
7.
And Mary, a virgin,
became pregnant from that very hour!
E.
When she meets up
later with her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth rejoiced that Mary was experiencing
the blessings of just believing (Luke 1:45)!
F.
Let me show you the
benefit of believing God, and Trusting God like Mary did, that first Christmas!
III.
Message – The Joys
of Mary’s Faith
A.
What Are the
Blessings of Believing God?
Because Mary Believed God…
1.
The impossible gets
done! She got pregnant
a.
That’s one big
miracle!
b.
One of the biggest
in the Bible!
2.
Great peace about
everything going on now
a.
In her heart
b.
And in her home! As
we will see!
3.
Never ending
surprises (2:33,35,48)
a.
Living by Faith
never gets boring
b.
God will never stop
surprising us with the wonders of His will
4.
All her needs
supplied (Matthew 2:11) – she was well taken cared of
a.
Gold is a precious
metal to honour Him as King
b.
Frankincense as
perfume or incense, to honour Him as our High Priest and Mediator between us and
God
c.
And myrrh as
anointing oil, pointing to His future death
d.
God just knows how
to take care of us!
e.
But you say, “God
has never brought ME some gold, frankincense or myrrh!”
5.
She Got Through all
the Hard Times
a.
Mary didn’t have it
any easier than we do
1)
At almost every step
of the way, Mary had a hard time just living like everything will turn out fine.
It was not easy believing God back then, just like it is not easy now. But Mary
does it!
2)
You see, there will
always be obstacles, and
rough roads to travel as we just trust
God as He leads us and shows us the way to live for Him!
b.
She missed out on
the beautiful wedding that she had planned
1)
As any woman getting
married does
2)
But God had other
plans
3)
Joseph said, we need
to have a rushed marriage – that very night (Matthew 1:24-25) – rushed to a
local Rabbi, and it was done!
c.
She kept her
marriage – almost lost it
1)
She Expected her
soon-to-be-husband to understand her and trust her when she said she was
pregnant with the Son of God (Matthew 1:18,19)
2)
Uh, no! He DIDN’T
understand at first!
3)
He was
understandably upset
4)
So much so that he
could only think about calling off the wedding and separating from her and
taking care of her from a distance for the rest of their lives!
5)
There was no
reasoning with Joseph
6)
So Mary learned what
all women must learn… sometimes you need to just let GOD explain things to your
husband
7)
Which is exactly
what God did do! (Matthew 1:20-23)
d.
She had no one to
talk to about all this
1)
Except her husband –
and he probably wasn’t all that helpful
2)
And, except for her
cousin, Elisabeth – at least SHE knew and understood, and believed with her!
3)
It is nice to have
family or a friend who believes God too!
4)
But not many people
just believe this Bible, and believe God
5)
Most people believe
the weatherman more than they believe God
e.
She had to wait to
live with Joseph until Jesus was born (1:25)
1)
That was hard for
her AND Joseph
2)
But believe me, they
caught up after Jesus was born (Matthew 13:53-56) – they had 6 more children!
f.
She had to give
birth to this promised Baby in some harsh circumstances
1)
Travelled 60 miles
(2:1-5). She had to travel to Joseph’s hometown at the very time of her delivery
2)
Rejected by family
(2:3,7). She was rejected by Joseph’s family
3)
Turned away by the
Innkeeper. She was turned away from the few places to stay in Bethlehem – the
Inn
4)
Stayed in a barn for
shelter. She had to accept desperate shelter
a)
With feeding
troughs, animals, hay, poo, rats, cats, dogs, sheep, cows, mules
b)
For several DAYS -
not just one night
5)
No family around, no
friends, no clean room, no one but her husband, and no help but from God!
6)
THAT was how Mary
faced that long last night of her pregnancy
7)
And you never find
her complaining ONCE ladies!
g.
Through it all, GOD
took great care of Mary, and Joseph, and the Baby in her womb. Mary truly was a
blessed woman!
6.
But best of all, she
was used of God
a.
The devil is a user,
and an abuser – he just grabs and uses, and then throws us away
b.
But God seeks our
permission to use us, and do strengthen us, and to bless us!
c.
Mary got to be used
of God to:
1)
Carry the living
Word of Life in her womb for nine months (John 1:1-3,14)
2)
Give birth to the
Son of God
3)
Hold and care for,
and be a mother for this new-born baby
4)
Let Him go one day,
to do HIS Father’s will
5)
And watch Him draw
all men to Himself as he ultimately hung on the cross dying!
d.
There really is not
much worse than being USELESS to God!
B.
Listen to Mary
Praise GOD
(Luke 1:46-54). This kind of faith will cause ANYONE to praise God!
1.
She
Magnified the Lord – makes HIM look
big, not herself!
2.
She
Rejoiced in God her “SAVIOUR” – who
needs a Saviour, but sinners!
a.
She does not say, “I
rejoice in God THE Saviour”
b.
But rather, “I
rejoice in God MY Saviour!”
3.
She saw what GOD has
done just in her life!
a.
Notice what all GOD
– not Mary had done in her life…
1)
The Lord God has
done great things to me – she didn’t do anything great, except believe!!!
2)
Holy is HIS name –
not hers!
b.
HE has had mercy on
people –
don’t look to Mary for mercy (1:50), look to Jesus!
c.
The Lord has
shown how powerful and strong He is
in this miraculous conception
d.
And THROUGH this
virgin birth, GOD has defeated the proud,
the rich, the haughty, and the arrogant who say there is no God
e.
GOD has
removed kings, and replaced them with
THIS baby Boy
f.
GOD (NOT Mary) has
supplied the needs of the hungry
g.
God, through this
little baby, yet to be born, has helped His people, Israel, just like HE promised Abraham that he
would!
h.
Mary was glad to be
a small part of God’s will – she was used as a vessel
i.
It was ALL JESUS
that was the reason for Mary’s praise!
4.
She Realised just
how blessed she was for God to choose to use her
5.
All because, she
just BELIEVED…
a.
That SHE herself
needed the Lord God to save HER from the penalty of her own sins (1:47)
b.
That her first duty
was to please GOD (1:28,30) by her life
c.
That God’s ways are
the right way
1)
She believed that
staying a virgin, waiting for marriage before having sex, like the Bible says,
it worth it
2)
Looked forward to a
life-long marriage, with one man – not living together, or casual sex – but
having a real, till-death-do-us-part
marriage!
d.
And THAT way of
thinking and believing helped her to believe what God was now promising her –
the ultimate purpose…
e.
To be the woman who
would give birth to the Promised Messiah, who would HIMSELF be the Saviour of
the world!
f.
The faith Mary had,
didn’t make everything easy – it just made all things possible!
6.
I hope that you see
that … Mary was not God – she is not
Deity (Luke 1:47) in heaven now, hearing and answering prayers
a.
Mary is blessed! But
we are MORE blessed! Even her own Son, corrected Mary, and said the real blessed
are those that follow HIM, not follow her (Luke 11:27,28)
b.
She was not perfect
c.
She was not sinless
d.
She was NOT the
immaculate conception
e.
She was a sinner,
just like everyone in this room! Maybe not as bad as some people you know, but
she was still a sinner because this same Bible, that you claim to believe says,
“For ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” and “there is NONE
righteous, no not one!”
f.
Mary herself needed
GOD! She depended upon Him
g.
When there was a
need (like there was at the family wedding in Cana), Mary didn’t rely on
herself, she told people to do whatever Jesus said do (John 2:3-5) – because
Jesus is the only answer to all our needs!
C.
Mary Decided to
NEVER Miss ANY of God’s Blessings
(2:16-19; 2:48-51)
1.
She could have
focused all her attention on the hardships that she had to face, but instead…
2.
So she LOOKED for
the blessings – actively looked for them in her everyday life
a.
People are way too
good at finding faults, and problems
b.
Mary CHOSE to look
for how GOD was blessing her, and using her
3.
She KEPT every
memory fresh in her heart. Never wanted to forget the goodness of God
4.
And, she kept
herself in the place of blessing – if only you knew the value of GOD’S
blessings, over popularity, wealth, entertainment, political power!
a.
The place of a
Christian’s blessing is Not
1)
In the sports
stadium
2)
It is not in the
shopping centre
3)
It is not in front
of the TV for hours on end
4)
It is not on your
SmartPhone, and internet
5)
It is not “hanging”
with your friends
b.
It is in your daily
walk with God in prayer, and praise – seeking God’s favour, pleasure with your
life. When it was time for prayer by the church, THAT is where you found Mary
(Acts 1:13,14) – praying with everyone else
c.
It is making the
effort to be where Jesus’ words are taught and preached and loved
d.
It is in obedience
to doing what God says – even when it is hard
e.
So she followed
Jesus herself – THAT was where the blessings were always going to be
IV.
Invitation
A.
BOY was Mary blessed
for just believing God
1.
God Made Mary a
Promise – that she would become a Mother
2.
Mary Pointed Out A
Problem – a BIG Problem - she is a virgin. That kind of stops that train!
3.
The Angel Reminded
Mary WHO is at Work – it was GOD’S doing, not hers!
4.
And That Settled It
for Mary – And it should settle for every one of us!
B.
What Are the
Blessings of Believing God?
1.
The impossible gets
done!
2.
Great peace
3.
Never ending
surprises – never bored
4.
All our needs
supplied
5.
God will get you
THROUGH all the Hard Times
a.
In your marriage
b.
In your loneliness
c.
Through all the
delays you face
d.
Through all the
harsh circumstances you may have to go through
6.
But best of all, you
will be used of God, for good! There really is not much worse than being USELESS
to God!
C.
That Kind of Faith,
Causes ANYONE to Praise GOD!
1.
Magnify Jesus – make
HIM look big, not yourself!
2.
Rejoice in God YOUR
“SAVIOUR” – I still get excited about being SAVED!
ARE YOU SAVED? BORN AGAIN?
3.
Take a LOOK what GOD
has done just in your life!
a.
HE has had mercy on
you – not
condemned you, but had compassion, and given you THIS chance to get saved
b.
He has probably
shown how powerful and strong He is
in answering some of YOUR impossible prayers
c.
He always
defeats the proud, the rich, the haughty,
and the arrogant – that was probably what YOU were before YOU got saved!
d.
He
removed ALL the kings/authorities and
gods in your life, and replaced them with THIS baby Boy named Jesus!
e.
God probably has
supplied all your needs – not your wants,
but your needs
f.
And God has probably
used YOU, in some crazy ways!
4.
Realise just how
blessed you are for God to choose to just use you – He could use anyone else!
5.
It all only happens
when someone decides to just BELIEVE…
6.
Remember, Faith
doesn’t make everything easy – it just makes all things possible!
D.
Don’t Miss ANY of
God’s Blessings!
1.
LOOK for the
blessings of GOD in your life, not of people, or of wealth, but of GOD!
2.
KEEP / STORE AWAY
every memory in your heart. Never wanted to forget the goodness of God
3.
Keep yourself in the
place of blessing!
a.
It is in your daily
walk with God in prayer, and praise – seeking God’s favour, pleasure with your
life. When it was time for prayer by the church, THAT is where you found Mary
(Acts 1:13,14) – praying with everyone else
b.
It is making the
effort to be where Jesus’ words are taught and preached and loved
c.
It is in obedience
to doing what God says – even when it is hard
d.
So she followed
Jesus herself – THAT was where the blessings were always going to be
E.
It all begins with
the NEW Birth
1.
Starting over,
admitting you are NOT okay with God, but a sinner, a law-breaker
2.
Now understanding
that there is none righteous, no not one
3.
That ALL have sinned
and come short of the glory of God
4.
That the wages of
our sins is eternal death
5.
But the GIFT of GOD
is eternal life, through JESUS CHRIST our Lord – not through Mary, or anyone
else!
6.
And believing Jesus
to be all you need to be saved from your sins, and made right before God!
7.
Will you decide to
believe On Jesus this morning? Asking HIM to save you, and not Mary anymore!
8.
THAT is when you
will start to experience ALL the same JOYS that Mary experienced that first
Christmas!