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Over the last few weeks, we have been examining what Christmas is all about.
We went back to to see that Christmas is about a world broken by our selfish, sinful choice.
We saw from that passage and from that Christmas is about a promise God made to send someone, a Messiah, to set the world right.
Last week, we started examining some of the people who would be involved in God fulfilling that promise as we saw a man named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth.
They were given a child who would prepare people’s hearts for the Messiah who was to come.
From their example, we saw what it looks like for us to be faithful servants of God.
This morning, we are moving to the woman God used to actually carry and birth the Messiah.
She is the woman who had the privilege of actually being Jesus’ mom.
The God who created the stars was knit together with flesh in the womb of this amazing young woman.
We are starting in , so go ahead and turn over there.
Her reaction to these events shows how incredible she was, and for us, it is going to leave us with a great example of how to respond when God calls us to be a part of what he is doing.
In fact, if you could sum it up in one word, I would use the word “humble.”
Although she has often been elevated to a position God never intended her to hold, we would be just as wrong if we didn’t acknowledge the incredible humility of this woman.
Called to do the impossible and faced with an incredible challenge, Mary humbly submits herself to God’s plan.
As she does, she gets to see God move in a way no one else in history has ever seen.
She truly is unique in what God called her to do, but her heart of humility is something we should all aspire to reflect.
As we watch how she responds to what God is calling her to do, we are going to see that Christmas is all about humility.
Humility is one of those words we use in church but may not really understand, so let’s define it for a few minutes before we look at Mary’s example.
Remember, this builds on our look at Elijah’s life.
How many of you are familiar with a song by Mac Davis called, “It’s Hard to Be Humble”?
The edited version of the chorus goes something like this:
This Fall, God keeps reminding us that He does His greatest work through ordinary people.
We saw it with Elijah in October and November.
Now, we are seeing it play out in the ordinary men and women who God used to bring His Son into the world.
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cause I get better lookin' each day
To know me is to love me
I must be one incredible man
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doin' the best that I can
We started our look at these characters last week as we examined the life of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist.
So far, we have gone back to to find that Christmas is all about a world that has been broken by sin.
Sin is anything we do or think that goes against who God is and what he expects of us.
Feel free to elbow your spouse if you think they like to sing this song!
We used one key word to describe him: Zacharias was faithful.
We saw Zacharias faithful to serve the Lord despite disappointments, faithful to grow despite failures, and faithful to obey despite opposition.
Even when we broke the world through our sin, God gave the hint of a promise that he would one day set the world right again.
Hopefully, you have seen the Lord work in your heart this week to help you obey, grow, and serve Him more faithfully.
Last week, we saw that in greater detail as we saw how God explained that promise in .
We saw that Christmas is about God sending a person who would be God in the flesh, wise beyond compare.
He would bring in peace like the world hasn’t known since we pushed God away all the way back at the beginning.
Faithfulness to the Lord requires another key character trait, and it is one we see in perhaps the most famous character in the Christmas story.
This morning, we are fast-forwarding 700 years ahead of last week’s passage.
In the passage we are picking up with today, the time has come for the promise to be fulfilled.
As we will see over the next two weeks, though, God is going to use some incredibly special people to bring his promise to fruition on earth.
We are going to take the next two weeks and examine these sections in the lives of the man and woman God called to serve as Jesus’ earthly parents.
We are starting in , so go ahead and turn over there.
We turn our attention to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as we turn in our Bibles back to …
Her reaction to these events shows how incredible she was, and for us, it is going to leave us with a great example of how to respond when God calls us to be a part of what he is doing.
In the passage we will read, she is going to find out that she is going to carry the Messiah, the baby that God has promised to the world.
Her reaction to these events shows how incredible she was, and for us, it is going to leave us with a great example of how to respond when God calls us to be a part of what he is doing.
In fact, if you could sum it up in one word, I would use the word “humble.”
In keeping with our pattern, we are going to use one word to describe Mary today: Mary is humble.
Although she has often been elevated to a position God never intended her to hold, we would be just as wrong if we didn’t acknowledge the incredible humility of this woman.
Called to do the impossible and faced with an incredible challenge, Mary humbly submits herself to God’s plan.
As she does, she gets to see God move in a way no one else in history has ever seen.
She truly is unique in what God called her to do, but her heart of humility is something we should all aspire to reflect.
As we watch how she responds to what God is calling her to do, we are going to see that Christmas is all about humility.
We are going to see four different ways her humility played in this passage.
Some in our world think that humility is about weakness.
They would say that you shouldn’t focus on being humble; instead, if you want to get ahead, you need to let the world know how awesome you are.
Build your platform and make a difference because you are awesome.
Some in our world think that humility is about weakness.
They would say that you shouldn’t focus on being humble; instead, if you want to get ahead, you need to let the world know how awesome you are.
Build your platform and make a difference because you are awesome.
Humble people are viewed as weak, and the world will forget them.
Others believe humility is simply groveling around in the dirt and telling everyone how terrible and worthless you are.
True, biblical humility isn’t either of those.
Instead of weakness, it is the strength to see yourself as you really are.
It is the understanding that apart from God, I can’t do anything of any eternal value.
However, in Christ, I have been loved, saved, called, gifted, and equipped by the incredible God of the universe to serve Him in unimaginable ways.
It is understanding what Tim Keller has said:
“We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”
(Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage)
When we understand that, we become so grateful to God for what he has done, not proud and arrogant in who we are.
Mary is going to demonstrate this in the way she responds to what the angel Gabriel has to tell her.
She is going to model humility for us in at least four different ways.
Pick up with me in .
The way we continually talk about our own inability is an insult to the Creator.
The deploring of our own incompetence is a slander against God for having overlooked us.
Get into the habit of examining in the sight of God the things that sound humble before men, and you will be amazed at how staggeringly impertinent they are.
[1]
The first way we see humble servants respond is...
Let’s see how humble Mary’s encounter with an angel went.
Pick up with me in .
1) Humble servants are prepared.
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Look with me at how the angel greets Mary in verse 28…
What did the angel tell her? “Mary, you are going to find favor with God when you do this?”
That’s not what he said, is it?
Rather, he said, “Mary, you have already found favor with God.”
Isn’t that interesting?
You see, Mary had already been prepared for what God wanted to do through her.
It wasn’t because of Mary’s obedience, although that allowed her to be in a position to be used.
She found favor with God because God, in His grace, chose and prepared her for this moment.
Do you think she was the only young virgin God could have used?
Do you think she was the only girl who trusted God?
Why her?
Because God chose her!
Listen: God has saved you and is calling you to serve Him in a unique way.
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