[0:00] Take your Bibles and turn to the Gospel of Luke. The Good News According to Luke.! Luke chapter 1. And this morning we're going to begin reading at verse 26 and read through verse 56.
[0:18] ! Luke chapter 1, verse 26. In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.
[0:38] The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you.
[0:50] Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God.
[1:02] You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
[1:12] The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end.
[1:24] How will this be? Mary asked the angel, since I am a virgin. The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
[1:39] So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God.
[1:59] I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. Then the angel left her. At that time, Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.
[2:19] When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear.
[2:32] But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
[2:46] Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished. And Mary said, My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
[3:10] From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me. Holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him.
[3:22] From generation to generation, he has performed mighty deeds with his arm. He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has lifted up the humble.
[3:37] He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.
[3:53] Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. Well, that is the flawless word of God.
[4:06] And in that word, it is promised that the one who came once will come again. The Redeemer will come to Zion. And that's what we look forward to as we sing our next hymn.
[4:20] It's hymn 238. 238. Our faith looks back and our faith looks forward. 238. Please stand as we sing.
[4:31] 238. 238. 238. 238. 238. 248.
[4:43] God never speaks to us without expecting a response, a fitting response to what he says.
[5:04] You know, that's what makes reading the Bible such a dangerous thing. It's never just an intellectual exercise. To learn some more facts.
[5:15] No, God's expecting a response from you to what he has just said to you. And that's what makes coming to a church that reads and teaches and preaches the Bible such a dangerous thing.
[5:31] Because God is expecting a response. And these very words that you're hearing again this morning will meet you one day in the day of judgment that we've sung about.
[5:42] It's what Jesus said to the people who heard him speak when he was on the earth. That the very words I have spoken will judge you in that day. And that's not only true of the Ten Commandments that we're usually studying on Sunday morning.
[5:57] It's also true of his words to Mary that we are turning our attention to this morning. As she receives a message about God's eternal son coming into the world to save sinners.
[6:13] So let us listen to God's word this morning as for our lives. And so find these words to be indeed wonderful words of life.
[6:27] Now when the Lord God would tell us about his son, his eternal son coming into the world. He begins in the first chapter of Luke by introducing us to Mary.
[6:44] The one who would be the one to birth him into this world. And right away we learn several things about Mary. We're told she lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee.
[6:59] Now 30 years later we will hear Philip when he's found Nathanael run to Nathanael and say, We found the Messiah, the one that Moses and the prophets wrote about.
[7:11] He is Jesus of Nazareth. And you remember Nathanael's famous response to that announcement. Nazareth. Can anything good come out of Nazareth?
[7:26] That's not the place of movers and shakers in Israel. Not the place of the rich and the famous. Nazareth? We might say woodland.
[7:39] Pardon the offense if you're from woodland. But really, what has it ever produced? Nowheresville, Nazareth?
[7:51] That's where Mary lived. And then we're told she was a virgin. She had never had physical intimate relations with a man. So bearing a child was an impossibility in her state.
[8:07] And then we're told she was betrothed. She was pledged to be married to a descendant of David named Joseph. Betrothal was far more serious and binding than our being engaged.
[8:23] When we get engaged, we show up with a ring and say, Will you? And she says, Yes, and that's it. Not so with a betrothal. In a betrothal, they would exchange vows to each other in the presence of witnesses.
[8:39] So it would be like part of our wedding ceremony was part of their betrothal. It was a very serious thing. Vows were given. God was called on his witness along with others.
[8:50] And all that awaited was the day of the wedding, usually a year later, when the marriage would be consummated. And they would then move in together and live as husband and wife in the bonds of marriage.
[9:06] Well, she is betrothed to Joseph. And it was this betrothed virgin from Nazareth who then receives a visit from an angel named Gabriel, who was sent on an errand to deliver a message from the Most High God to this young lady, probably in her early teens.
[9:32] She's the one who one day, we're not told what she was doing, but suddenly there he was. This angel saying, greetings, you who are highly favored.
[9:44] The Lord is with you. And so notice with me today both a shocking message and a shocking response. First, the message, God's message.
[9:55] It was not a common occurrence for an angel to show up and to talk to people in those days. That is why she's shocked.
[10:07] She's greatly troubled. She's scared stiff, just like you would be if that happened to you. Just like when an angel showed up in chapter 1, verse 12, to Zechariah, and he was startled and gripped with fear.
[10:24] This was not a normal occasion. Probably the only time that she ever saw an angel and heard a message from God.
[10:34] And so she's just fearful, wondering, what is his business with me from heaven? Why me? And judging by the length of the angel's message, we find that Luke is more interested in telling us about Mary's son than he is about Mary herself.
[10:53] He's introduced us to Mary very quickly. But now he's going to tell us about her son. There's a noticeable shift then here of the spotlight at this point.
[11:05] Though Mary is still on the stage, it's her son that takes center stage. And after all, that's why Luke, by the Spirit, is writing this gospel, because the good news is all about what Jesus Christ has come to do to save sinners.
[11:23] Well, Mary couldn't hide her fear. I've always thought what a difficult job angels have when they come to earth and appear to men.
[11:34] Their first words are always, don't be afraid. Think if you had such a face that the first words you had to say to somebody, don't be afraid. That's the way it was with these angels.
[11:46] Don't be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. Here's an angel that stands in the presence of God and runs on his errands. And he knows her name.
[11:59] Mary, your name is known in heaven. And God has sent me to you specifically with a word for you. But don't be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God.
[12:13] It was said of Noah in Genesis 6a. Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. He found grace. And that's what Mary finds.
[12:26] She finds favor, grace in the eyes of the Lord. Grace is never something earned. It's always something received freely. And God is dealing graciously, shining his favor upon this young virgin.
[12:42] And then the message. God's message itself begins with three staccato points in verse 31. Mary, you are going to get pregnant. You're going to conceive in your womb.
[12:56] Next, her baby's gender is announced. Even before conception, you will give birth to a son. I wonder if Mary heard the echoes of Isaiah.
[13:08] The virgin will conceive and bear a son. And then the baby's name is also announced. You're to give him the name Jesus. Yeshua in Hebrew.
[13:21] And every time that word, that name was spoken, it was saying, the Lord saves. The Lord saves.
[13:32] He's here to save. Now, how's that for starters? The message to this virgin. You are going to conceive and bear a son and you're to call him Jesus.
[13:44] Jesus. Now, before she could completely wrap her mind around those few remarks, the angel just goes right on to tell her many more things about her son to be born.
[13:54] Amazing things. Shocking things. Hard to believe things. He will be great. He will be great. Now, we use that word great in many different ways.
[14:07] Kids, it doesn't mean that he will be large. A big man. No, he'll be great in the sense of fame and honor and reputation and importance.
[14:19] Now, remember who Mary is. She's not great. She's a nobody in the eyes of the world, isn't she? A young virgin. Of humble and lowly position, betrothed to a poor carpenter.
[14:36] Far from fame or VIP status in Israel. And after all, she's from Nazareth. Nazareth of all places. And yet, she's told that her son will be great.
[14:48] Well, how great? The angel says he'll be called the son of the most high. That's great. God is called the most high.
[14:59] Over 50 times in the Bible. That's one of his titles. There are people and angels that are elevated and set up, lifted up, exalted.
[15:12] But none of them compare to God. Most high. None higher. He's alone in the category of highness.
[15:23] He's holy. He's set apart. The most high. And your son, your son will be the son of the most high.
[15:39] And why will he be called the son of the most high? Because that's who he is. He is the son of the most high. He's not the son of Joseph.
[15:50] But the son of the most high. Indeed, when Luke gives us Jesus' genealogy in chapter 3 and verse 23, he writes of Jesus.
[16:01] He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph. But he was the son, in fact, of the most high.
[16:12] I added those words to you. But Luke does record. It was thought of Joseph. But, you see, the angel says, no, he will not be the son of Joseph.
[16:23] He will be the son of the most high himself. Oh, he will indeed be great. None greater. A divine son. The son of God is a name for God.
[16:35] God the son. The eternal son of God. He will be God. Must have had her head swimming. But that's not all. He will be a king.
[16:46] He will be a king. The greatest king ever. Now, the angel doesn't use the word king, but he does speak of a kingdom of reigning and a throne.
[16:59] Kids, who reigns on a throne over a kingdom? Well, you say it's a king. That's right. And so, he will be a great king.
[17:11] The Lord God, verse 32, will give him the throne of his father, David. Now, Mary has just been told that her son would be the son of the most high.
[17:24] So, he will be divine. But now she is told in the next breath that he will be the son of his father, David. He will be a man.
[17:34] Now, which is it? Is it God? Will my son be God or will he be man? He will be both. He will be one person with two distinct natures, unmixed, unblended.
[17:49] As fully God as the father is God. And as fully man as you and I are human. He is the only person like this to have two distinct natures, divine and human.
[18:08] That human nature is foretold there, you see, in the words of his father, David. Now, both his biological mother, Mary, and his stepfather, adoptive father, Joseph, descended from the line of David.
[18:23] And so Romans 1, 2 speaks of God's son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David. He's God's son and he's David's son.
[18:36] He is God. He is man. And that's what qualifies him to be the mediator between God and man.
[18:47] As God, he represents God. And as man, he represents man. And he alone can work out a peace between God and man.
[18:58] To reconcile God and man. And that's why Paul says to Timothy, there is one God and there is one mediator between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus.
[19:11] We see the foundations of that laid even here in the announcement of the angel to Mary. Your son, the son of God and the son of David.
[19:25] And then. Mary's son is said to be one who would reign on David's throne.
[19:37] Now, that that would be very hard to believe, because at the time, the throne of David had been cut off for nearly 600 years. Like a tree cut down, there was nothing but a stump left in the land.
[19:50] His father, David's throne had been established a thousand years earlier when God removed the kingship from Saul and made David a man after his own heart, the king of Israel.
[20:05] And in second Samuel 716, God promised David a dynasty of kings to follow him. He says to David, your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me.
[20:20] Your throne will be established forever. So David was followed by his son Solomon, who sat on the throne of David.
[20:32] And David was followed by Jeroboam and Jeroboam by I'm sorry, Rehoboam. And so it went for 400 years, 21 descendants of David seated on the throne of David.
[20:50] But God judged the nation of Israel. He judged the southern kingdom of Judah because they forsook him. And he brought the Babylonians down and destroyed Jerusalem, its temple, its king, took its king away, slaughtered.
[21:10] His last visible sight was to see his sons, the descendants of David, slaughtered. And then his eyes were put out and away he went to captivity in Babylon.
[21:20] And so it was for nearly 600 years, the Jews were without a king on David's throne, subjugated by the Babylonians, then the Medes and the Persians, then the Egyptians.
[21:32] And now at last the Romans. And that's the situation then that Mary grows up in. Israel was being ruled over by the great Roman Empire.
[21:44] There was no Davidic king on David's throne. Roman soldiers were everywhere just to remind them of who's who here, who's reigning over whom. But now here's an angel that shows up with a message from heaven that the Lord God would give to her son.
[22:01] That throne of her father, David. He will be a great king indeed. And something else that's staggering about his kingship is that he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
[22:14] And his kingdom will never end. Now throughout our history, Israel had many kings, some good, most bad.
[22:27] And you can read all about it in your Old Testament and first and second Samuel, first and second Kings, first and second Chronicles. The prophets speak of these kings. But what these kings all had in common was this.
[22:39] They all died. And their kingdoms came to an end. Their reign came to an end. Now that was great if it was a bad king.
[22:50] Oh, he's dead. But if it was a good king, you would wish he could have lived longer. But what if there could be such a good king?
[23:01] Even a perfect king. Whose kingdom would never end, but would just go on reigning forever and ever. Wouldn't that be great? And so you see, all the kings that came and went in Israel were made to cause Israel to look forward to that coming king.
[23:20] Whose reign would be forever and ever. Who is both son of God and son of David. There's nothing ordinary about this child of Mary.
[23:36] This great king or about his kingdom. Isaiah had said it. And again, we wonder if she hears the echoes of Isaiah 700 years earlier. For to us, a child is born.
[23:48] To us, a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace and of the increase of his government and peace.
[24:03] There will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
[24:19] Mary, did you know that all of this will be, true of your son? That you will bring into the world. I just can't imagine what a young teenage girl is doing in her mind now.
[24:33] Would it not be information overload? She's trying to take it all in. But she's got one burning question.
[24:45] How? And she asked the angel, how will this be since I am a virgin? And everyone knows that virgins don't give birth to children.
[24:57] And so the angel gives her another staggering truth to swallow. For he answered in verse 35, the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
[25:11] So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. Your son, Mary, is not going to be conceived in the natural way by a human father. No, it will be a supernatural conception.
[25:24] By the power and spirit of God himself. That's why he'll not be called the Son of Joseph, but he will be called the Son of God. Joseph will have no part in this conception.
[25:39] And that's why he'll also be called the Holy One. For you see, if Joseph did have a part, then the child to be born to you would inherit from his father a sinful nature.
[25:52] But this Son of yours will be different from all other babies ever born in the ordinary way who are born sinners. As the Bible everywhere declares that all, all have sinned.
[26:08] You see, by the sin of the one man, Adam, all his offspring became sinners. sinners. And we inherit a fallen sinful nature from Adam, a sinful heart that goes astray from the womb, speaking lies.
[26:32] Sin. Since all are conceived in sin and born in sin, they naturally sin when they come forth from the womb. And that's why death comes to all men, because all have sinned.
[26:47] Romans 5, 12. But not this baby of Mary. Since he is begotten without a sinful human father, he will have no sinful nature.
[26:59] And that's why he will be, the one born will be a holy one. The holy one. Everyone else, Mary included, falls under the verdict that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
[27:14] And that's why she herself will later confess that she too needs a Savior, as she'll speak in verse 47 of God, my Savior. So it's made clear to Mary, isn't it, that it would be as a virgin that she will conceive this son, a supernatural conception, a virgin birth, by the direct power of God working in a way that is contrary to nature in a virgin's womb.
[27:43] Now, I just wonder, we've heard this story so often, but I wonder if we appreciate just what Mary is being called upon to believe. Something that's impossible.
[27:57] Things that had never, ever happened before in human history. But isn't it like God to stoop to our weakness, to help us, to believe?
[28:11] Is that not the whole gospel? Is that not the whole gospel? That we who had no faith and would not ever and could not believe that God stoops and enables us to believe things we otherwise never would.
[28:25] And that's what he does with Mary. And so to encourage Mary's faith, the angel tells her of another supernatural birth. He says, even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age.
[28:38] And she was said to be barren is already in her sixth month of pregnancy. For nothing is impossible with God.
[28:50] You see, a married but barren old lady having a child? Impossible. Impossible. We see that throughout the Bible, don't we? Sarah and others, Hannah, impossible with men.
[29:05] But nothing is impossible with God. And so from this impossibility of an old barren womb conceiving, it's just another step to believe in a young virgin womb conceiving.
[29:26] Both are impossible with men. The one even more impossible, but nothing is impossible with God. Well, that's the message. Do we see just how hard it was to believe?
[29:40] She's being asked to believe impossible things. Things that had never happened. And not only that they would happen, but that they would happen to her. A nobody. From Nazareth.
[29:57] That a virgin would conceive and have a baby without a man involved. That her baby would be both divine and human. That her baby would be a king whose reign would never end.
[30:14] Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. That's the message that Mary was given from heaven. Let's feel that this morning.
[30:25] Is the message shocking? So is Mary's response. Look at it in verse 38 as we come to her response. I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said.
[30:37] Notice two parts to to Mary's amazing response. First of all, she believed God's word to her. Didn't she? All of it.
[30:47] As Elizabeth will say later in verse 45, when Mary goes down to visit her, she says, blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished.
[31:02] Now, I'm sure Mary would say, relative, Elizabeth, there is much that I don't understand and don't know how these things are even possible.
[31:14] But there is something that I do know. You see, Mary knew her God as her song of praise reveals on the face of it, as you just gaze at it and read it at a later time.
[31:28] She knows God. She knows that he is no liar. That the word of the Lord is right and true. He is faithful in all he does. She knew that he was almighty and that nothing was impossible with God.
[31:42] And knowing him to be the God of truth and might, she believed that what the Lord had said to her would be accomplished. But there's another part to her response.
[31:55] Not only did she believe God's word, she surrendered to God's will. She willingly offered herself for the job. I am the Lord's servant.
[32:07] May it be to me. As you said. Notice she has a proper view, both of herself and of her God. The one comes from the other.
[32:21] Indeed, John Calvin says, we don't really know ourselves until we have come to know God. And when we see him for who he is, then we come to see ourselves for what we are.
[32:32] And Mary has come to know this God. And so she also knows herself. She knows God to be the Lord. To be the master of all.
[32:46] And if he's Lord, she's not. And so she sees herself properly before this one as the Lord's servant. The Lord's servant.
[32:59] There's her identity. That's how she thinks of herself. He's Lord. I'm servant. His servant. Servants don't choose for themselves what they'll do each day, do they?
[33:11] They show up and say, what would you have me to do today? And the master tells the servant. And the servant does whatever the master's will is.
[33:25] So Mary's response is, I'm not my own to decide what my life will be. No, I am the Lord's servant. And whatever he wants, I am willing to do or suffer.
[33:41] And there was something to suffer. However, this was no easy thing to do. I wonder which was easier to believe the message or to submit yourself for the job.
[33:56] Because her early pregnancy would mean that she would become a moral and social outcast of Nazareth. It would expose her to the public shame of unfaithfulness and sexual immorality.
[34:08] No one would believe her as she told them she had not had physical relations with anyone. That this pregnancy is entirely supernatural. Can you imagine how that would play out in the press today?
[34:24] Some pregnant young woman making such claims? It was no different then. This had never, ever happened before.
[34:36] Who would ever believe that? And her whole life as she had thought of it and had planned it and had desired for it.
[34:47] To be, it stood to go right up in flames with this one event. Because it would also probably mean losing the man of her dreams, Joseph, the one to whom she is betrothed.
[35:02] I'll probably lose him too. And so her whole life stands to be scarred by this event. She can hardly think of life going well for perhaps.
[35:13] I'm just saying what I would feel like if I was Mary. I'm saying there was a cost, wasn't there? A severe cost.
[35:23] Nevertheless, she died to her own plans for her life and willingly offered up herself. I'm the Lord's servant. May it be to me.
[35:36] As you have said. How could she not surrender her life to her Lord? Who am I to deny him?
[35:48] The Lord, the mighty one. Holy is his name. He's God, my savior. Mighty as he is. He has been mindful of my low estate.
[35:59] He has stooped and had mercy on me. He's been so gracious. I have found favor with him. Unmerited favor. And has my great God sent his son to save me in light of such majesty and mercy?
[36:16] How could I ever withhold my life, my body, my plans, my desires and say, not me? You know, there have been grown men who have said, not me.
[36:28] There have been other prophets who said, not me. I'm not wise. I'm not eloquent. I'm young. I'm too young. And Mary, I'm your servant, Lord. Let's go.
[36:40] Let it be to me. As you have said. I say that's a shocking response that she surrenders and views it as her highest privilege to be a servant of this God of grace and wonders.
[36:54] I'm presenting myself. I'm presenting myself. All I am, all I have and all I ever hope to be to you. Let it be as you've said. You know, the message that she received was such that if it was true, it demanded everything.
[37:12] It was an all or nothing message, wasn't it? I mean, if it's not true. Mary, you go on planning your days and your life and live any way you want.
[37:23] And Paul says, if it's not true, then let's eat and drink and be merry because tomorrow we die and the whole shoot match is over. But if it is true, I can do nothing but say, here am I.
[37:42] Use me. How can we do any less with the gospel that we've received? It's an all or nothing message. We don't work deals with God.
[37:53] I'll give you so much of my life and this area and that, but not this. She's on the altar. And I ask you, brothers and sisters, in light of God's mercy, is there any place for us to be besides on the altar, presenting ourselves, our very bodies as a living sacrifice to this God?
[38:12] I'm your servant, Lord. She surrendered to God's will. And indeed, Matthew tells us that when Joseph learned of her pregnancy, he was indeed ready to call off their marriage and to divorce her.
[38:30] As one unfaithful to their betrothal vows. But Mary, but Joseph had a similar experience as Mary. We don't have time to look at it, but in Matthew 1, you read of Joseph's visit from an angel, from God.
[38:49] And there's real parallels here. He receives a shocking message. And the angel tells him about a supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit.
[39:03] That what's been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. And she'll give birth to a son and you're to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. And so Joseph, like Mary, has received this shocking message from God that demanded the same twofold response.
[39:19] Well, will he believe it? Never happened before. You're saying that's what's happened to my. Betrothed Mary.
[39:32] It was a message to believe about a supernatural conception, about a supernatural mission for Mary's son to save his people, not from Roman conquest, but from an enemy far worse from men's sins that would damn them forever.
[39:49] Mary's son born by the power of this conceived by the power of the spirit will save sinners, his people from their sins. And he believed it. But not only did that message come calling him to believe, it came calling on us on him to surrender.
[40:05] He had a surrender to make, didn't he? To do what God told him, to take Mary home with him, to be his wife. Well, that could expose him and did expose him, did it not?
[40:16] To many, many, many, many troubles. It was costly, but believing he bows again by submission to God's will. And Joseph, too, did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
[40:30] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Mary's response, Joseph's response, now your response, my response.
[40:45] Because, you see, in a very real sense, we all, you and I, stand before this same message of God. God has spoken to us this morning in his word about his son.
[41:02] And he never speaks without expecting a response. How will you respond? This is a moment of decision for us.
[41:15] Having heard the same message, we, like Mary, have a message either to believe or not believe. And a message that demands a surrender.
[41:28] Will you believe the message about this baby boy? That he was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit? Will you say that in your school?
[41:40] Where science says, if it doesn't happen, it can't have happened. Will you stand and say, I believe in the virgin conception and birth of Jesus Christ. And I believe that he, there's no one like him in that he was at one and the same time both God and man.
[41:59] What are you saying? He's a schizophrenic? No. But he's as much God as God is and as much man as I am. And I believe that he's the great king of kings.
[42:12] Whose kingdom and reign will never end. And I believe he's the holy one. The only one without a sinful nature. The only one who's never sinned.
[42:22] His name is Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. That this is the only one that could live a perfect life and have a perfect record to give to us sinners.
[42:35] Who had broken God's commands and deserved to be damned. And he, the perfect one, is now qualified to lay down his life and to give to us eternal life.
[42:47] There is a message here, folks, for us to believe. That there is no salvation in any other. Only in this Jesus. And we can't save ourselves by being good or being religious.
[42:58] That none but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. I believe that. Nothing is impossible with God. Namely, salvation. Do you believe all these impossible things about God's son?
[43:14] That he has given us. This is the message, John says. That he has given us eternal life. This is God's message. He's given us eternal life. And this life is in his son. He that has the son has life.
[43:26] But he that has not the son of God has not life. We must believe. But there's also a surrender to make. A surrender to this God and Savior revealed in Jesus Christ.
[43:42] Like Mary, who believed the message to be true. And realized if it's true. Then it demands everything that I am. And so I surrender. All.
[43:55] All to Jesus. I surrender. I'm your servant, Lord. You see, though we live 2,000 years after Mary, we've received the same message.
[44:13] But we've received even more from God, haven't we? Because. Because. She has conceived. And brought forth a son.
[44:25] And he has, by his life and death, saved sinners. He's been saving. He's still saving. Because he rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. And he there sits.
[44:38] On David's throne. And he's reigning. And he will reign. Forever and ever. And so believing that message.
[44:54] I have a surrender to make. A surrender. I not only believe he is Jesus. The only savior of sinners. I personally entrust myself to him.
[45:06] To have him save me. Not enough just to say. Yeah, I believe Jesus is the same. You can believe every single thing. That the angel told Mary.
[45:16] And go to hell. No, you must entrust yourself. To the savior. To be saved yourself. God be merciful to me. The sinner. For Jesus sake.
[45:29] There's a surrender. Of faith. To make to this Jesus. To have him save you. By his perfect life and atoning death.
[45:40] Oh, why would you not surrender to him this morning? And then there's this matter that Jesus is God. You not only shake your noggin and say.
[45:52] Yes, I believe that as hard as it is to believe. I believe it. But you entrust yourself to him. As God. And you recognize I am not God.
[46:06] He is. I'm not Lord. He is. And so what am I? I'm your servant. To do your will. Here's my life.
[46:17] Take my life. Take my life and let it be consecrated. Lord. To thee. Here's my moments and my days. Here's my time. Here's my money.
[46:31] Here's my life. Here's my hands. My feet. My lips. My eyes and ears. My silver. My gold. My mind. Let it all be used for you. My Lord.
[46:41] Who is God. Over me. So when you hear that Jesus is God. Do you take your place. Beneath him.
[46:52] And offer your life up to him. And that's not something you do once in your life. And that just settles it then. No, it's a daily surrender.
[47:05] That's why Paul said I die daily. We're called daily to deny ourselves. Take up our cross. And to follow Jesus. There's a daily surrender. Have you picked up the cross yet today?
[47:16] Brother. Sister. Have you died to yourself today? To do the will of God? There is a submission.
[47:27] To make. A surrender to make. And this is something that we're called to do. Every time we are confronted. With God's word. What will we do with the message.
[47:38] That we've heard from God. Yeah. Yeah. Believe that. Believe that. Believe that. And we go out unchanged. James says.
[47:49] We've only tricked ourselves. We've just deceived ourselves. If we think we're any better. If we're just hearers and not doers. There's a surrender. To make. To this. Truth. Of God.
[48:01] Both a message. To believe. And a surrender. Of life. To make. And what about the truth. That he's a great king. Do you believe. That Jesus is this king. That God says he is.
[48:13] And that he will reign. Forever. And ever. Oh yes. I believe it. Oh. But we not only believe it. We bow.
[48:23] In fresh. Surrender. Under our king. And we. We say. Oh king. What would you have me to do. King of my life.
[48:34] I crown thee now. Thine shall the glory be. Come and rule over me. By your. Your precious laws. He's a great king. And it's one thing.
[48:46] Just to. To nod the head. To such things. But it's another thing. To bow beneath his laws. When your will. Comes into contradiction. With God's law. Who's king then. We bow.
[49:01] And we do the will of our king. He's got a manifesto. It's called the sermon on the mount. The manifesto of his kingdom. And it begins with eight beatitudes. That mark those who are in his kingdom.
[49:13] And then we have the king's laws. And there's none like them. And the king interprets them for us. They're not like. The interpretations of the scribes. And Pharisees.
[49:23] Who just say. All they have to do is with your outward behavior. No. King Jesus says. My law. Search your hearts. Your attitudes. Your motivations.
[49:35] Your minds. And so if we. Acknowledge that Jesus is king. We put ourselves under. The king's. Character. His beatitude.
[49:47] We put ourselves. Under his. His laws. And then we also. Put ourselves under. Kingdom priorities. Because the king says.
[49:59] Seek first. The kingdom of God. And his righteousness. And all these other things. That we get so worked up about. That the nations are running after. They will be given to you as well.
[50:11] Kingdom priorities. Is it evident. In your life. That. The king's.
[50:23] Kingdom. Has the non-negotiable. First place in your life. That you're all about the king. Like Paul could say.
[50:34] To me. To live as Christ. It's all about the king. First. Seek first. The kingdom of God. Is your tax collector. Your tax preparer.
[50:45] Looking over your tax. Is he convinced. She convinced. That. You're about the kingdom. You're not about this world. This guy's doing something. For the next world.
[50:55] In the way that. He gives his money. The people that live with you. Know that you're about. The kingdom of God. And his righteousness. By the. The words you speak.
[51:05] The things you live for. You. When. The king calls you. And his subjects together. To worship. To pray.
[51:18] Is. Is it kingdom priority. That. That runs your schedule. How much of your weekly schedule. Shows that the kingdom of God. Is. Is what you're about. Making.
[51:29] And. Training. Disciples. Is. The message. That the king left. With his church. This. Is what you're to be about. Until I come back. You're about the kingdom.
[51:41] Priorities. About loving. God. And loving your neighbor. As yourself. Kingdom.
[51:52] Priorities. What about prayer? Because in the sermon. On the mount. Jesus teaches. His citizens to pray. He says.
[52:03] When you pray. Say. Our father. Who art in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom. Come. Are you praying that? You're praying Lord.
[52:14] I don't seek the advancement. Of my kingdom. And my will. But I. I pray that you. Would bring your kingdom. To earth. In power. And you would bring. Your kingdom.
[52:24] In power. To my heart. Come and reign. Over me. Come and rule. More and more. Over each. Area of my life. And. And. And let your will. Be done. On earth.
[52:34] As it is being done. In heaven. Right here. In my heart. In grace fellowship. In Bremen. In France. In Switzerland. In Kenya. And to the ends of the earth. The king.
[52:45] The king. As a kingdom. That shall last. Forever. And ever. So we've heard. This wonderful message. About Mary's son. Being God.
[52:57] Being savior. And king. Have you come. And entrusted. Your. Your eternal soul. Into his keeping. To save you. And to keep you. Come today.
[53:07] And trust him. You can do it right there. As you sit there. And are you submitting yourself. To his claims. Upon your life. Jesus. You're my God.
[53:18] My savior. My king.