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God's Great News from the Story of Mary
Luke 1:26-38
Sermon by Rick Crandall
(Prepared November 23, 2022)
SCRIPTURE READING:
*Please open your Bibles to Luke 1:26.
Did you ever wish you could go back to the first Christmas?
Back to Bethlehem, back to the angels, the shepherds, and the baby Savior in the manger?
*Of course, we can't go back to Bethlehem.
But we can go back to the best of Christmas!
God wants us to experience the best things about Christmas, and today's Scripture can help us.
Please think about this as we read Mary's story in Luke 1:26-38.
MESSAGE:
*It's amazing to me that over 2,000 years have gone by since the first Christmas.
And we can't go back in time a second, but the true and living God wants us to have the best of that first Christmas.
And God has great news for us from the story of Mary.
1. FIRST, GOD WANTS US TO GIVE US HIS GRACE.
*One of the best things about Christmas is the gift of God's grace.
And we can see this first in vs. 26-28:
26.
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27. to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.
The virgin's name was Mary.
28.
And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!''
*Gabriel told Mary she was a "highly favored one," but Christians, so are we!
I say this because the original word for "highly favored" here comes from the word we translate as God's grace.
And this original word is only used one other time in the whole New Testament.
That's in Ephesians 1:6 where it is translated as "accepted."
So, listen for the word "accepted" in Ephesians 1:3-6
*There Paul was speaking to all Christians and said:
3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,
5. having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
6. to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
Christians: God's grace makes us "accepted in the beloved"!
God's grace makes us "accepted," because we are literally and spiritually in His beloved Son Jesus Christ.
Being accepted by God is indescribably good, and it puts us in the same company as the Lord's "highly favored" mother.
*But Ephesians 1:7 reminds us that it never could have happened without the cross of Jesus Christ.
-- Because "in Him we have redemption THROUGH HIS BLOOD, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace."
Thank God for the cross of Jesus Christ!
Our forgiveness comes only through His blood, and that is the riches of His grace.
*But there is more grace for us in Mary's story.
Verses 29-30 say:
29.
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30.
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."
*When we read about Mary finding "favor with God," we might think that Mary had done something very special to earn God's favor.
But she was probably only 14 or 15 years old.
That's not a lot of time to do anything for the Lord.
And this word "favor" is a little different from "highly favored," but it is still talking about God's grace.
So, we could say, "Mary, you've found grace with God."
This means you have found God's sweetness, loveliness, joy, and delight.
You have found God's good will, and His merciful loving-kindness.
*Mary did no great deeds to earn the blessing of being the Lord's mother.
Had she won any great battles?
Did she have impressive degrees?
Had she given away a lot of money?
Did she find the cure for some dreaded disease?
Was she a famous athlete at tennis, soccer, or golf?
Was she a famous movie star or diva with millions of adoring fans?
No, of course not.
*There was nothing Mary did to be born a woman.
There was nothing she did to be born a descendant of King David, and that was essential for the mother of the Messiah.
There was also nothing Mary did to be living in Nazareth.
And that was crucial, because the prophets had said that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene.
All of these essential qualifications came only by the grace of Almighty God.
*Now don't get me wrong.
Mary was surely a godly and special woman.
But just like us, she was a sinner who needed a Savior.
And Mary found the gift of God's grace: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."
*This was a fairly common expression in the Old Testament.
The first time we see it was when God decided to destroy the old world with a flood.
But in Genesis 6:8, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."
*There was a wonderful word picture behind this Old Testament word for "favor" or "grace:" Someone who was superior stooping down in kindness to help, someone who was superior stooping down to have mercy on someone inferior.
Think of a loving parent who stoops down to help a child in need.
*That is a picture of God's grace.
And He wants you to have His grace.
But how can we find God's grace?
How did Mary find it?
The same way that anybody can find it, -- the only way that anybody can find it, and that is through faith.
*Christians are saved by God's grace through faith in the Lord God.
So, Mary had already been trusting in the Lord.
Now she would have to trust Him much more, as He called on her to miraculously be the mother of the Messiah.
And she did trust in the Lord.
By faith, Mary found "grace" or "favor" with God, and so can you!
2. GOD WANTS TO GIVE US HIS GRACE.
-- CHURCH: HE ALSO WANTS TO CALM OUR FEARS.
*Again in vs. 29-30, when Mary saw the angel Gabriel: "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.'"
*Mary was "troubled."
That word means she was "greatly disturbed, agitated and alarmed."
Mary was troubled when she saw that angel.
She was probably scared to death.
Who wouldn't be?
If an angel appeared here this morning in all of his glory, I would be pretty shook-up, and you would be too!
*Mary was also troubled by the greeting Gabriel brought to her from God.
But God had the answer for her anxiety, as Gabriel simply said, "Fear not."
"Do not be afraid."
*Have you ever been troubled?
Have you ever been afraid?
Sure we have.
And we live in fearful days.
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