Date:   12/17/06

Text:   Luke 1:26-38

Title:   God's initiatives and human response

Theme: Christian living is a response to God's initiatives in our lives

Introduction:

  As we see and hear this dialogue between Mary and the angel Gabriel, who would you say is the main character? Traditionally, the spot light is usually on Mary. The angel Gabriel is kind of being pushed into a background voice. However, if we are to take a look at the amount of words spoken, Gabriel is clearly the main character in this narrative.

  In this passage, we notice the author, Luke's attention, on details. This event occurred when Mary's cousin was 6 months pregnant. It took place at Nazareth , a very small city. In order for his reader to remember it, he tagged it with a well known place, Galilee . Mary was engaged to Joseph. Luke was careful to point out that Mary was a virgin at this time. According to the custom of those days, she was probably under 14. Prior to appearing to Mary, Gabriel was first sent to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist. Gabriel in the scriptures is known as God's messenger, representing God. This identity certainly sheds a different light on the story, right? If God is to speak to a person, who is the main character? God, of course.

  In this familiar passage, we want to discover God's initiative in our lives.

I •  God takes the initiative to show grace to his children.

  Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, vs.28 “ “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” Both here and in vs.30, Mary was called the one who was favored by God. God was with her. She was the recipient of God's grace. Then Gabriel continued to explain what this favor, or grace was about. v31-33, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end, ..”

  What did Mary hear? Knowing that Mary was very familiar with the OT scriptures, this is what she heard. Soon after man's disobedience of God's command, God proclaimed in Genesis 3:15, “…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel..” This is about an offspring, a seed that will come to break Satan's hold on men; bringing men back to God. This seed would be the mediator between men and God. Many years later, God spoke to David in 2 Samuel 7:11, “…..I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, …… 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever..” The Lord told David that now he was given a kingdom. After he died, his sons will continue this kingdom. However, there will be one descendent, a seed that will sit on the throne and be king forever. This promise certainly links closely to the majestic passage in Isaiah 9:6, “ 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.” In short, in the OT there is a promise that one day, out of the descendents of David, will come a Messiah, whose kingdom will see no end.

  So Mary heard that the son she would give birth to is, none other but the Messiah. This son, Jesus, is the king, the Messiah that was promised long ago. This is the reason that Mary is the favored one, the one who received God's grace. This put Mary in the same position as some OT characters: Noah, Lot and Moses. They were all called, the favored ones, recipients of God's grace.

  This really had nothing to do with Mary's merit. Yes, later Luke told us about Mary being thoughtful, obedient, believing, worshipful and devoted to the Jewish law. But these virtues had no place in being the chosen one. It was strictly out of God's sovereignty and therefore, it is a grace.

  Not only is Mary the recipient of God's grace, aren't we all? I think of the 8 that will be baptized this morning and others that have come to know the Lord during this past year. Our coming to faith in Jesus Christ has nothing to do with how good we are. It is purely God's work. He took the initiative to come and seek us out. He came to bring us back to God. This is grace. In Paul's writings, he repeatedly tells his readers that we are all recipients of God's grace. As recipients of grace, God has already given us all the heavenly blessings. In the familiar words of Amazing Grace:

  God always take the initiative to give us his grace.

II •  God takes the initiative to manifest his power to us.

  When Mary heard Gabriel's announcement that the child she was to give birth is none other than the Messiah, she said in vs34, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel responded, vs.35-36, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.” Basically Gabriel told Mary that God's power will make it happen. And then Gabriel used Elizabeth as an illustration. Please note the words Gabriel used, “…who was called barren.” Mary, being familiar with the OT, certainly understood these words. To whom were these words referred to 2 thousands years ago? In Genesis 16:2, 17:17, 18:1,12, the same words were used to describe Sarah. She was barren for 90 years. When she was 90 years old, God promised that she would give birth to a son. Then there was Sarah's daughter-in-law, Rebecca. She was barren for 20 years after she married, then gave birth to Esau and Jacob.

  What did Mary hear? The ones who were too old to give birth, like Sarah, the one who was unable to give birth, like Rebecca and Elizabeth, the one who was a virgin and therefore impossible to bear a child, Mary herself, were to give birth. How so? Because God's mighty power was with them. God's power was able to cause the aged, the unable and the unmarried ones to give birth. He takes the initiative to demonstrate his power on his people. And Gabriel summarized this with what Fred Craddock called the creed behind all creeds, 37, “ 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” When God wants to carry out his plan, nothing is impossible. Luke then continues to show God's power in the rest of Luke and the Acts of Apostles.

  I think of those who have come to know Christ during this year. Just one or two years ago, or 10 years ago, we would not have believed that we'd be here today. But here we are. Many of us a year or two ago, would not have believed we are at where we are today, spiritually, physically, relationally and career wise. Just a few years or even few months ago, we were walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Our world was in total darkness, there seemed to be no hope at all. Now, there appears a light shinning through that darkness, hope is coming back to us. Why? Because nothing will be impossible with God.

  It is easy for us to receive God's grace. How about afterwards? The scriptures tell us that having come to Christ, we are to grow, to be obedient to him. We are to follow and be like him. Or Friday morning's staff devotion, we were reminded that we are to use our eyes, ears, mouth, heart and feet to do what is pleasing to God. Boy, that is difficult, isn't it? Some of us may also be feeling God's tug in our lives, telling us to step out of our comfort zone. It could mean we are to thank God for the gift he has given us at this moment: being married or single. It could mean going into full time ministry, a change of career, to go home, or to mend a broken relationship. From our perspective, it is difficult, or even impossible. But, when God wants to implement his plan in our lives, nothing will be impossible with God.

III •  God's initiative requires our response.

  What was Mary's response when she had this encounter with Gabriel? Of course, her first response was fear. This is why Gabriel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,…” Again, this put Mary in line with the OT characters. When God appeared to Joshua, Gideon and Abraham, God always assured them by saying, “Do not be afraid.”

  I think of a person who asked for advice as he was considering a job offer. He described in great detail the pros and cons of this position. He knows exactly the nature of the job and what to expect. With all that information, he still couldn't make a decision. Whenever we make a positive decision, it will always involve risks. You probably know someone who will only make a decision when they are 100% certain of the outcome. They don't want to take any risks. If God would have told me everything that I would experience as a pastor, prior to going into the ministry, I would definitely have second thoughts.

  When Gabriel appeared to Zechariah, he did not tell him all the details about Elizabeth 's pregnancy. So Zechariah doubted. But how about Mary? Gabriel told her every thing. Nothing was being withheld from Mary. Mary also knew full well the risk she would be taking. People would make fun of her when they see her pregnant before she was married. There was even the horrible risk that Joseph might break off the engagement. Of course, there were still too many aspects of this happening that she simply could not understand. Knowing all this, what did Mary do?

  Vs.38, “Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary obeyed. It was a simple obedience to an almost impossible mission. As a recipient of God's grace, soon to experience God's power, Mary believed in Gabriel words, God's words, and submitted herself to God.

  Isn't this also true for us? There are times, our foreknowledge of all the facts, will not help us in our decision making. Our faith is not in the fact that everything is under our control. Our faith is not based on our ability to do things well. Our faith is in God, the one for whom nothing is impossible.

  Are we struggling with certain issues in life? Some of us may feel that God's spirit is tugging at us to confess and deal with certain sins in life. God is telling us to be obedient to his word by forgiving someone who has hurt us deeply. God is prompting us to take the first step to reconcile and mend a broken or strained relationship with your spouse or friend? It is difficult and humanly speaking we have been asked to do the impossible. But remember, with God nothing is impossible. Understanding that with God nothing is impossible, our only proper response is like Mary: I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.

Conclusion:

  When we come to this passage, we often place our focus on Mary. However, the intent of the author, Luke, is really on God's initiative of grace and power. From the very beginning of human history, God took the initiative to seek Adam and Eve after they disobeyed Him. He continued to seek his people and deliver them from their enemies with his mighty power.

  Even to this day, our Christian living is about God's initiative of grace and power. We are all recipients of his grace. He has first chosen us, called us, forgiven us and loved us. He has showered us with all the heavenly blessings. He has also repeatedly demonstrated his power in our lives. I have often shared with you that behind each face in this sanctuary, there is a story of God's grace and mighty work in our lives.

  Reading this passage reminds me of an event that happened almost 30 years ago. When I felt that God was calling me into full time ministry, I experienced great struggle. The struggle was: was this really a calling from God or from my own imagination? After a series of events lasting almost 9 months, I was quite certain that it was God calling me. Once I was certain of this, I realized that I didn't have any options. I obeyed the call.

  Understanding God's initiative of grace and power in our lives, we, too, are left with little options. We are to be like Mary by submitting ourselves to God, and letting him continue to work in our lives. As we submit, we'll continue to experience his grace and power, this will further lead to submission. Isn't this what Christmas is all about? It is a vivid demonstration of God's initiative of grace and power. The only proper response we can offer him is to be obedient to Him.