12/24/23 Luke 1:26-38 “Your Christmas Miracle”

19 Dec 12/24/23 Luke 1:26-38 “Your Christmas Miracle”

12/24/23    Luke 1:26-38        “Your Christmas Miracle”

I think that we are all creatures of habit to a certain extent.  I find that the older I get, the more I see things the way I want to see them and it is a little harder for me to be open to change.  But as limited as I think I am, I’m not nearly as limited as someone who doesn’t know Jesus in a personal relationship.  I would like to begin today with a reference to the famous painting that is in many churches where Jesus is at the closed door and He is knocking.  I just referenced this a couple of weeks ago as it is one of my favorites.  The point I want you to see here is that the non-believer is on the inside of the door.  This means the non-believer’s whole world consists of the tiny little room that is behind this door.  He cannot have the flowers and wondrous things that God has made that are outside the door.   If you are a Christian, then this door is open and you can see the tiny world of the non-believer as well as the universe as God has made it.  The choice is yours to make.  You can either be confined to a small, little place or you can have all that God has to offer.  Today, we are going to look at more miracles as we have Mary being told that things were going to happen that were outside her world.  Let’s see if we can see the wonders and joy of this passage and how they will relate to our lives.

Our modern scientific world has made us very skeptical of miracles.  Before we can deem anything a miracle, it has to stand up under the unbelieving eye of the modern world.  If I say that it is a miracle that I can walk, someone will explain the mechanics of walking.  The same can be said of my thoughts, my emotions and many other things.  One of the greatest miracles that we witness all the time is the miracle of birth.  Even here, people will explain it with X’s and O’s so that the process becomes scientific.  However, science is no closer now than they have ever been to actually creating life out of nothing.  It can’t be done because these people are living inside their limited little room and they can’t see the universe.  When we baptize a baby, I get to carry a miracle from God.  We get the honor and pleasure of watching this miracle grow.  Science can do lots of things and it can do lots of things very well.  We need science in our lives.  However, it cannot create life.  Mary was going to be the recipient of many miracles after the angel Gabriel talks to her.

There are some great principles at work in these few short verses.  First of all, I would like to ask ‘who is Mary?’  About all we know is that she is a Jewish descendant of David who lives in Nazareth.  She is a young virgin who is pledged to be married.  She is a common person meaning she is not rich or anything like that.  She is just another face in the crowd until Gabriel comes for his visit.

The neat thing about Mary is her being ordinary.  We have known some other ordinary people who God has chosen to do extraordinary things.  David was a shepherd.  Jonah was disobedient.  Jacob was a liar and cheat.  Moses had some sort of speech impediment.  The list goes on and on until finally God choses an ordinary young girl to be the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.  I think that this is something that is extraordinarily special.

What makes this story so great is that we can all relate to Mary.  We are all ordinary.  We all go about our lives.  We eat, sleep, work and come to church.  And in our ordinariness, God will use us.  He has used us.  We have the privilege of living our lives in such a way that we can see inside the small room and outside where we find the vastness of God.  He uses us to teach, to help, to serve.  I don’t know of anyone here today that God doesn’t use or at least He wants to use.  Mary shows us that God can use anyone.  He can use you.

I know that for some of us, Christmas is one of the times of the year that we kind of reflect a little on our lives.  When you do this and it is good to do, remember that Jesus has a use for you.  There is not a person in the world that God will not use. Not only that but He has a use for your family and friends also.  He loves you and has a use for you.  This is important to know and remember. You are useful.

Another thing that is important to know is that Jesus is with you all the time.  One of the first things that Gabriel tells Mary is in verse 28 where he says, “Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.”  Remember at this time Mary really doesn’t know what is happening.  She doesn’t know what is next.  This is the first time she has been contacted.

Mary finds this greeting to be troublesome.  I think that if any of us had this greeting, say this afternoon, from an angel of God, we would find it troubling also.  God is coming and saying to you, ‘You are highly favored!’  Now I don’t know about you but one time God told me I was highly favored, I had to quit what I thought was a good job and take on a new career as a pastor.  It scared me to death to do this.  But we listened and we found that the old job wasn’t that great and this new career is out of this world with goodness.

No one likes to be taken out of their own personal status quo.  For the most part we don’t like radical change.  But this is what happens when we sign on with Jesus.  This was one of the main reasons that I was reluctant to do so.  I didn’t understand Jesus so I thought that if I asked Him into my life, I would have to go to Africa or China as a missionary.  I didn’t realize that what Jesus wanted to do with me was change my life.  He wanted my life to be radically different in ways that only improved my life.  If you are sitting here today and you don’t know Jesus and you think the way I used to think, then listen up.  Jesus wants you to come to Him today so that you can begin the road to a better life.  I don’t think that He wants to send you to Africa or China or even South Dakota.  Today, I think He wants to help you with your personal life.  So, when God comes along side of you and tells you that you are one of His favorites, bask in His glory.  Enjoy this wonderful feeling and know, I say know, that what He wants from you is to make your life so much better.

One of the promises that Gabriel makes before he even begins to tell Mary what is to happen is that he says, “God is with you.”  Before God even begins, we have the assurance that God is with us.  This is something that we forget about all the time.  God is with us.  He is always with us and He never leaves.  Here is my philosophy on this.  You know that God is by far the most powerful being in the universe.  He made everything you see.  You know this.  He also loves you more than everything in the world combined.  You know this.  He is with you as He was with Mary.  Therefore, why don’t you tap into this wonderful source that provides anything and everything in your world?  With Jesus, you can do anything!

I ask you today to do this.  The next time you are up against all odds, go to Jesus before you start.  Maybe you have to get up in front of people and do a reading.  Ask Jesus for calmness.  Maybe you have something due in school or you have to do something out of the ordinary, ask Jesus to guide you.  I have had students tell me what a difference it makes when they pray right before a test.  I have told you this story many times about the first time I gave a sermon.  I was a nervous wreck.  I couldn’t do anything.  Just before I went to the pulpit, I prayed that Jesus would be with me.  Everything went perfectly.  I was as calm as calm can be.  That is why I try to give all the credit to Jesus for any public speaking I do.  Without Jesus I am as terrible as terrible can be.  When Jesus comes to you, He comes with the reassurance that He will be with you no matter what the task.  He will be there because He loves you so much.

So, Gabriel tells Mary all of this stuff before He tells her what God is going to do in her life.  He tells her so that she might find the calmness she needs that I just referred to.  Gabriel is about to drop a real bomb on Mary and he wants her to be prepared by knowing and remembering all of these wonderful aspects of God.  Mary had been quite nervous about talking with Gabriel but somehow this angel prevails and she is settled down.

So then Gabriel drops the other shoe.  She is going to be pregnant with a son who she is to name Jesus.  This son will be the Son of God and He will reign over everything everywhere forever.   All these things will happen and she is a virgin who is not even married.  To anyone’s mind in those days, this would have been impossible.  Most people think it is even more impossible today.  But notice how she reacts.  She merely asks, “How can this be since I am a virgin?”  She is cool, calm and collected because she has God with her and she believes.

This whole story is so full of twists and turns that I think are so cool, so full of faith and so miraculous.  The reason that Mary remains so cool and collected here is that she knows that God can do anything.  She has no reason to think that God cannot do any of these things and much more.  When Sharon and I drove out to our first parish for the first time, I was a little apprehensive because I was going into unknown territory.  I had preached a few times before this but I had no idea if I could do this every week plus all the other things involved in being a pastor.  But we kept coming because I knew that God was with us and He would take care of us.  God can do anything and that includes making me into a preacher, which had to be a very big job!

This is something that we often forget.  God can do anything.  If He tells you that you are going to do something great, then you will be doing something great.  It is ok to be a little apprehensive if you have never done something before but know that God will do exactly what He says plus He will be there to help.

To help make these things happen we need to learn to be more humble, prayerful and willing to submit our wills to God.  The Lord has made all these promises but they are contingent on our participation.  This is not works based.  We come to Jesus on our faith and our faith alone.  It is only after we have come to Jesus that we want to do things or works because we are Christians.  Therefore, we want to have a better relationship with Jesus and this is how it can be done.

Try to remember that whatever you do, it is not you who is doing it.  It is God working through you.  I love these professional and college athletes who thank God in the middle of the field after a game.  God gave these players their abilities and they are using them.  I think that it is a little strange that high school teams aren’t doing this also.  This humility should remind us that we are the same way.  We need to be grateful to God for all the gifts and things that He provides for us.

And the best way to do this is through prayer.  We talk about this a lot because it is so important.  All I can say is pray, pray, and pray.  Remember the story I told last week where the person was praying while driving.  You can pray at any time, at any place.  You do not have to close your eyes and bow your head to pray.  These things help but when they aren’t possible, find new ways to pray.  Pray while you are jogging or in a crowd or watching TV.  Be innovative.  Be prayerful!

The next thing that helps the Lord to use us is when we become totally submissive.  This does not mean that we become weak.  As a matter of fact, just the opposite happens.  When you become submissive to Jesus, then He empowers you so that you are able to do great things in the name of Jesus.  I have preached sermons on each of these three items, humility, prayer and being submissive.  If you practice these things then you will find yourself where God will use you in some wonderful way.

So, I want to ask you this question today, this Christmas Eve Sunday.  Do you need a miracle in your life?  Are you having some sort of money problem?  Are there problems in your family? Are there any problems anywhere?  Even if you are a strong Christian, you have times when the world seems to crash around you.  Remember how to combat Satan and the world.  You do this by going to Jesus.  Go to Jesus as His humble servant who is willing to submit your total self to Him.  Go to Him in prayer.

This is all that Jesus has ever wanted.  He wants a relationship with you.  Give yourself the best Christmas that you can have by giving yourself Jesus or returning to Jesus or just becoming stronger in Jesus.  It will be then that you will be able to see things clearly outside your door.  I praise the Lord that He loves you this much.  Merry Christmas!  Let’s pray.