I Wish You a ‘Mary’ Christmas Part #2

The Mary Message

Luke 1:26-38  Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.  And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"   But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.  And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."  Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.  Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.  For with God nothing will be impossible."  Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. NKJV

Hear the Mary message and say “Yes, Lord”

Yesterday we talked about her Mary model. Mary was a prototype of what the Lord wants to do in us, but the “Mary model” only happens in people who hear the “Mary message” and who respond as she did, by saying “Yes, Lord” (Luke 1:38). Mary is a great example and model for us to follow. We realize that all the glory goes to God if any human being is able to accomplish his will; it is strictly by God’s grace. 

Fleshed out

When Mary said, “Yes,” it opened the way for Christ to come into the world. God grace enabled her to make the right decisions. Mary’s willingness caused God’s word to be “fleshed out.”  That’s a term we use today.  When something is “fleshed out” it means more details are given about whom or what you are talking about.  In Christianity we talk about being “incarnational”. The incarnation speaks of Christ becoming a man at Christmas time. John 1:14 says, “the Word {Jesus} became a man and dwelt among us.”   But how do you live that out?   How do you live incarnational?  I like how the message version translates John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.”  

Living incarnation means Jesus has become so real in your life others can see it! It’s like Jesus has moved into their neighborhood. When we come to Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Savior and he impregnates our life, it changes our heart!  It changes us enough to change the world around us.  God want to place his word in us. What the Lord wants to do is Mary model enters us, grows in us, and happens through us and changes the world around us. 

What was the message?

·         Rejoice God is with you! You are highly favored! You are blessed!

We need to receive the Mary message with joy! We have been chosen by God! We are his people. We have been given favor and are blessed. God’s grace has saved us! There is no reason for his love and favor except he just givens it freely. We do not deserve it, we are not worth of it, but he given it to us! So get happy people!

·         Don’t be afraid you have found favor with God!  

You are highly favored the angel says twice. The word favor used here is the word for grace—you’re going to get what you never earned, what you never deserved, and could never make happen. Then he says, don’t be afraid. Why do people fear the goodness of God? Probably because they think He’s just like humans beings offering something with an unseen agenda. But he his love and grace offers it freely.

God want us not to walk in fear, but in favor.  We no longer have to be afraid of God and what he is doing in our life; we know God is in control. Release your fears "Do not be afraid…”

If you’re afraid, it can mean several things,

1.  Your focus is on the situation and you feel helpless. 

2.  You can see no way out,

3.  You have no one to help you.

Jesus comes into the world and He brings peace.  The first thing that’s said by the angel is, don’t be afraid.  It’s as if God is saying – hey don’t worry, your fears can end right here.

So the solution is to; 

1.  Don’t focus on the situation; focus on the savior,

2. See that God has already promised a way out and sent Jesus for you,

3.  Realize that Jesus came to be with us and that we’re never alone.

THIS ALL FLOWS FROM LOVE – God loves and sends Jesus, Jesus’ love casts out the fears that we have because His love is perfect.

I John 4:18-19 (NIV) “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  We love because he first loved us.”

The more we receive and understand God’s love the less fear we will have

More tomorrow!