Sermon Nuggets Mon Dec 5 Angelic visit
Verses- Luke 1:26-27
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
Angelic Visit
My brother went into professional theatre after college graduation until he got older and realized there was more job security doing voiceovers for commercials and documentaries. But as I was a 6 ½ years younger it was exciting to see what went on both on-stage as well as back stage for plays he was in. I became aware there were lots of people that made a production work. Not just actors, but lighting, and sound, and make up, and properties, and costumes, and set design and construction people were needed. Then I met people in charge of the house- ticket sales, and cleaning and ushers and phone reservations and banking. While the play was going on stage hands were busy getting things ready for the actors.
There was one of the biggest dramas ever to occur in the world when God planned to execute coming to earth as a human. We are not talking about fictional presentation. There were no rehearsals at the first Christmas where people tried to get their lines right for others’ entertainment. The script was, however, pre-written. The characters were chosen carefully to fit their prescribed parts. The stagehands as it were, were the heavenly beings getting things in order for God to not only direct, but participate as the star of the greatest performance the world has ever seen.
In professional theatre there is someone behind the scenes that cues the performers when it is coming close to their time to be on stage.
Last week we looked at the preparation giving through the angelic announcement to Zechariah that his wife, Elizabeth would give birth to a child in her old age. This was part of the script. It was to coming of John the Baptist, a cousin to Jesus. He had a purpose to prepare also the way of Jesus during his public ministry.
The cue prompters in this Christmas story seem to be the angels. They are the one given lines, but do so as announcer to the characters in the story. We know that angels are messengers of God. They go and do what God desires. The Hebrew word translated angel, literally means a sent one. “Angelos” the Greek word, means messenger. They were the messengers to prepare by letting Mary and Joseph and the Shepherds know their parts. And in fact there was even a crowd scene for them coming up as part of the chorus.
. This day Gabriel is a chosen angel to deliver the Christmas message to Mary. Gabriel is a special messenger mentioned a number of times in the Bible
Wouldn’t it be great if we were as eager to give the messages from God to men and women? We have been given a message of Good News. To whom can we share it this week?
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Dec 6 Luke 1:28-29
Verses- Luke 1: 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
Blessed Art Thou
This time of year FedEX, UPS, and the USPS are all folks delivering packages. The workers look at the name and the address of a package and are paid to see that household gets it. If their customers are like me they really aren’t that interested in the delivery person, but what is in the package and who it was that was sending them this gift. What most folks don't do is go to the door and gush all over the delivery person, "Oh! I'm so glad you came. Please come in for some lunch, sit down, tell me all about yourself." But some people treat the heavenly messengers that way.
Some will sin by worshipping angels and praying to angels. There are passages I the Bible where they speak to angels, but not pray for them Those requests and words of praise are reserved for the sender. The sender is God.
Angels are so much part of our society’s folklore and decorations, and Christmas cards, movies and TV programs.
We know the name of the special delivery agent to Mary the Mother of Jesus. The angel’s name was Gabriel who appeared in Galilee, in the town of Nazareth, to Mary, a virgin, engaged to marry Joseph and announced to her that she would miraculously conceive a son and bring forth Jesus, the Son of God.
Heb 1:14: reminds us "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" So they are ministering spirits sent by God to serve the saints. If we fuss over them, we miss the point. What's important is who sent them. He's the one to pursue.
“Blessed,” cried a woman one day to Jesus, “is she that bare thee” He added “Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it.” This Mary is blessed among women. The word of the Lord’s angel is true. She is highly favored of God. It is a personal blessing. Gabriel said twice that Mary was favored by God. God favored Mary, but she is not our intercessor between us and God. 1 Timothy 2:5 ‘For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”
The Bible never says that Mary is anything more than a regular human being who found favor with God. And she is the one who humbly believes and receives with joy the good news. In that is she most blessed.
What has the eyes of the angels seen? They have seen the Lord up in the heavens preparing his coming. They have seen how in his sovereignty he has planned out each person’s part to fulfill prophecy and those he picks are humble, but blessed. Gabriel was picked to give the word to Mary. The angel understood the blessing of that appointment. Gabriel was in awe that an earthly woman would be chosen of God to deliver Jesus, divine in a fully human body.
This was a once in a lifetime experience never to be repeated again. She was to be the object of the grace of God. This was not a position she earned, but received. Many other people can share in the grace of God with various tasks. Eve was the first woman and God’s grace to be a mother. There were women leaders and judges too. There are men chosen to lead Israel as prophets and priests and kings. But to deliver God the Son into the world is a privilege granted to just Mary. Gabriel understood how highly favored she was.
Can you image the responsibility it would be to raise from babyhood the Son of God? Can you imagine the many thoughts that went through her mind? Who would be worthy? No one. But by God’s grace he involves humans in his greater plan for various purposes and tasks. To all of that we see the blessing from above and give God the praise.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds Dec 7 Fear Not
Verse Luke 1: 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Fear Not
Can you imagine the scene as Mary is about her business and this heavenly messenger materializes and Gabriel stands before her? Of course she would be afraid. But Gabriel wanted to put her mind to rest. Good things would came from this message. The good news was she had found favor with God. The angel wanted her to know what he knew. She was to be blessed for grace was given to her. This gift had noting to do with anything she did. It happened to her.
Obviously the explanation needed to be required. Since she is a virgin what happened was impossible from a human perspective. It was a child unlike any other. He would be hers, but without any husband or man. The Lord would see to it He would come through her.
The angel had seen some of the script, but not all of it 1 Peter 1:12 “It was revealed to them (prophets) that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven — things into which angels long to look.”
Interesting that angels are outsiders looking in like a FedEx delivery person watching as we open up a package addressed to us. They were excited for us. For not only did they know the sovereignty of God who could do the impossible but they knew what was in the package and what wonderful gift that was given. It was to be the gift that would bring about salvation. This was promised from the line of David. As king he shall rule over the house of Jacob and of his kingdom there shall be no end. The angel knew Mary and Joseph were descendants of David, Jacob, Judah, and Abraham, just as the script said it would be.
The angel was revealing that when God makes a promise, He keeps His Word, even if it takes thousands of years .We usually have a very difficult time waiting on God, but not the angels because they see things we do not. They see a sovereign God who will do what he says in his time. They have the insight of eternity. We do not. This angel of the Lord revealed that God keeps His promises long after many would forget for He is faithful.
But more importantly that being a king over the household of Judah He shall be called Son of the Highest. He is Gods’ son. His name shall be Jesus. The name Jesus means Jehovah saves! There is salvation in no other! Had salvation been possible any other way Jesus wouldn’t have had to be born those many years ago. But there’s salvation no other way. Jesus said that He was the way, the only way, "for no man comes to the Father except through me." The plan was to see this son grow to take our place for the punishment of sin by dying as the punishment so we can be free.
What Gabriel was proclaiming was not only a Sovereign God, but a Saving God. The saving of human beings and the keeping and blessing of the saved is the greatest business that even God Himself in Heaven, and Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit and all the angels of God, can occupy themselves with! Up in Heaven their attention is centered primarily on earth. How the angels delight to see sinners converted! And how lovingly they minister to the saved! And this gift is given to you and me and all who by faith will receive Him. That certainly would take away any fear.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Thurs Dec 8
Verses- Luke 1: 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Impossibilities
“The power of the Most high will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. “ What was Mary’s response? I am the Lord’s servant,” and her song is the soul glorifies the Lord, nothing about praise for the angel. But all the praise goes to God. Gabriel is delighted to do the marvelous work seeing God get glory.
What the angels see at Christmas is the power of God to do what he wants and the excitement that it is going to be revealed so others will get a glimpse of his glory. God can do the impossible. He is to be praised. They saw God create the world out of the power of his WORD. They saw the way he fashioned mankind out of dust and decided to make it a living soul. They saw the God who does the impossible by taking a rib and creating a helpmate for man. He can blow the waters of the Red sea part. He can make rock give water. He can change dew into bread. There is nothing he cannot do. So it takes angels eyes to know this lady needed convincing that virgin can give birth to a son if this is what the sovereign director says He wants. It will be. For nothing is impossible with God!”
How do we reveal the power of God to so whatever He wants? The angel told Mary that God had the power to make her cousin Elizabeth to get pregnant, even though she was too old to have kids and she had so far been barren. Gabriel was telling Mary that if God had the power to make a woman have a child who was an old woman and who had never been able to have any kids, then he could surely cause Mary to have a child without having a husband and this child was going to be Son’s son. If God had the power to create the universe by simply speaking it into being, He can surely create a child in a virgin! If God had the power to create Adam from the dust of the earth with no father OR mother whatsoever, then He could surely create a child from just a woman! If God had the power to use a small shepherd boy to kill a nine-foot-tall giant, He could surely create a child in a virgin! If God had the power to cause a great rain to flood the entire earth, He could surely create a child in a virgin! If God had the power to start a fire on a heavily water-soaked pile of wood, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
I heard recently there are companies that take an ultrasound picture of unborn children to give the parents their first pictures of their child. It takes a few weeks in the womb before they can determine if it is a boy or girl. In Mary’s case, however, the divine messenger declared that Mary is to give birth to a son, and this declaration was made before the child was even conceived.
But the angel delighted to bring the message of how a great God was going to accomplish benefits for you and me in their life. And what they saw was the power of God to do the impossible. This time he was going to outdo Himself, by becoming a baby from a virgin.
The message of power is summed up in these words “Nothing is impossible.”
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Dec 9 -
Verse Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Trust
As we have been looking at the angelic visit to Mary to announce God’s plan for this virgin to deliver the Son of God, we should remind ourselves some things about Mary. She was young. Mary was pledged to be married. At that time, it was customary for girls to be engaged around the time of reaching puberty. One reason was to ensure girls maintained their virginity until marriage. It’s very possible that Mary could have been as young as 13, or as old as 16 when Gabriel visited her.
She was poor. We understand that also from when Mary and Joseph went to the temple to have Jesus circumcised. Their sin offering was two doves used by the poor instead of a lamb for those with more money.
She also was rural, from Nazareth. Is that reason for humility? We know lots of prideful people out in the country. Remember what Nathanael said when He learned Jesus from Nazareth? “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” I am assuming that was so because of being less educated, less economy, maybe a reputation of poorer communities with crime and lack of social skills.
Yet Mary had two vital characteristics God looks for: humility and faith. She knew she wasn’t worthy of the honor God offered her. Yet she still believed God could use her, if she trusted Him. Do you believe God can use you? Or do you think you’re too small—too young, too poor, too weak to be used by Him?
“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” - Betty Reese.
Do you think you are useless to God? Think again. God is searching for humble people to use. Mary teaches us no matter who you are, God can use you.
When she heard she was a going to have a baby without being with a man and God’s Spirit would provide the conception, she didn’t doubt it. God can do whatever He chooses. “Let it happen just as you said.” Even though the angel’s news was unbelievable, she believed it. Mary didn’t understand it, but she also didn’t doubt it. She believed that no matter what He has promised, the Lord is sovereign.
Mary believed that “nothing is impossible with God.” Whatever God promises, He will do it. She believed!
What promises of God are you tempted to doubt? Are there areas of your life that you do not wish to yield to the Lord’s control? Are you willing to do whatever He asks of you? Do you realize His power is manifested in people who are obedience, of faith, and humble?
Our job is to trust. His job is to do the wondrous works for His glory.
Pastor Dale
