Drew Boswell

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“Soli Deo Gloria; God’s Glory Alone” Genesis 1:26-30

A Sermon Series

The Five Solas

“Soli Deo Gloria; God’s Glory Alone”

Genesis 1:26-30

Introduction

In the previous weeks of this series, we have looked at Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, and Christ alone. These first four solas fight against the word “addition.”[1] No authority is above God’s Word (it is perfect just the way it is), or comes along to add to its authority. The other three deal with not adding anything to salvation (like works, or means of), and it is Jesus alone and His work on the cross that alone satisfies God’s punishment for our sin. Jesus is the only way that man is justified before God. “How we like to think that there’s something for us to add to the satisfaction and obedience of Christ or to the inspired word of the prophets and apostles, . . .”[2]

The fifth sola, God’s Glory Alone, is a fight for balance in the Christian’s life. No, not balance as in work and family, but as in why were you saved to begin with? Is salvation ultimately about you? You were lost in sin, Jesus came along and saved you, so that you can live a better life? Is that why Jesus ultimately came and died on the cross, so that you can be better off? Now that a person has been saved, then what?

What Is My Purpose?

My Best Life or God’s Glory Alone?

Genesis 1:26 says “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” Being made in the image of God, or bearing His image makes mankind distinctly different from the rest of creation, since mankind is the only being made in the image of God.

The rest of creation points to a Creator, Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above1 proclaims his handiwork.” And Hebrews 3:4 “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.” It is so wonderfully complex and orderly, it must have a Creator (as a man who finds an iphone in the forest he knows someone at one point made it).[3] While mankind also points to God as having a creator because of the complexity and beauty the human body holds, it also plays a far more important role. The role of “bearing the image of God.”

So what does this mean, to be made in the image of God? The word “image” in the Hebrew is where the word “idol” comes from. You don’t have to read very much of the Old Testament to see that idols were forbidden, and caused much trouble for the people of God. God’s people, the Israelites, would follow a false god, and create an idol (or representation) of the god, that they would then bow down to and worship it as the one true God. The representatives made of stone, metal, straw, etc. represented the god. These images angered God because they did not accurately represent Him and His character, and it was not the way that God had directed that He was to be worshipped.[4]

There are certain attributes that God possesses as part of his nature that we also possess (holiness, love, truth, righteousness, beauty, etc.) and attributes that we do not possess (omnipresence, omnipotence, eternality, etc.)[5] Mankind can show love; dads love their kids. This is true if a person knows Jesus or not.

Think of being an image bearer where the human is a mirror. He was created to reflect; specifically, he was created to reflect God. It is in reflecting, that God receives glory and the person does what he was created to do. Idols are forbidden because they do not accurately represent God as he truly is “In fact it is only mankind that can “bear His image.” But we bear His image in order to reflect the glory to God our Creator. This does not make us gods, anymore than the mirror is its’ maker.

But because mankind is sinful the mirror is covered with mud (sin). What is reflects is covered with sin. This is mankind apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We do not bring God glory and we do not live a life of reflecting the image of God. God saves us; we then reflect our Creator (Jesus) and He receives honor, worship, praise, and glory. We have a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction because we finally are doing what mankind was created to do (Genesis 1:26).

There is also another problem. Once a person receives Jesus’ free gift of salvation the reflection that he gives is not a perfect reflection. Yes, Christians still make mistakes! In fact it’s much like a House of Mirrors at the local county fair. The image is distorted, warped, and weird. Thus begins a lifelong process of making the image more and more accurate (theologians call this Sanctification). It is only in eternity when we will as the image bearers of Christ accurately reflect Him as we should. Also, because we are all created different and unique we have been designed to reflect that light differently. One person will reflect the attribute of love differently, but they both reflect love.

 You Are Made by God, and You Have a God Given Responsibility (vv. 26-27)

“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image[6], after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Mankind is described as being made in the image of God. To be an image bearer of God is to be like Him, but eternally different from Him. “An image is ‘something cut out” such as an idol (2 Kings 11:18). It describes an exact resemblance, like a son who is an exact resemblance of his father. Genesis 5:3 “When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, . . .” Ancient kings would place such effigies of themselves in cities they ruled. However, although man is like God, he is not God (nor a god).”[7]

Mankind will love, but not as God loves. Mankind will think and reason, but he is not omniscient. Mankind will rule and reign, but not as God rules and reins. Mankind will bring life into the world, but not like God brings creation into existence. But, none-the-less we are a reflection of God. This is why the second phrase, “after our likeness,” is added. We are made in the image of God, but only a likeness (not an exact copy).

Genesis is a written account of creation where God communicates through His Word to us. Being made in the image of God is that mankind has the ability to communicate with God through His Word to us. He is giving us instructions, “God can converse with those made in His image, and Scripture is a record of those conversations. Moreover, conversation enables humans to have genuine fellowship with God.”[8] Because humanity bears the image of God, humanity then, has the ability to communicate with God.

Dolphins don’t have Bibles, crickets don’t know any memory verses, birds don’t quote from Ezekiel. But also, as a shadow, or reflection of this is how we communicate with other humans – it should reflect our knowledge of God’s Word (good, purposeful, holy, etc.) Our being bearers of God’s image allows us to have the ability to possess and understand the Words of God.

Mankind is given a responsibility leading from this act of creation. To be made in the image of God is to have the ability to have dominion over all of creation. God oversees all of time and space, all of reality, all of the created order, all of the heavenlies, all of wonders we don’t even know about.

 So, as a reflection of God, humanity oversee this created order. The verses then go back to how humanity is made in the image of God — having two forms, male and female. “Sexual distinction is also created. The plural in v. 27 (“he created them”) is intentionally contrasted with the singular (“him”) and prevents us from assuming the creation of an originally androgynous man.”[9] In these two forms (which we call genders) humans oversee creation. Men and Women will each play a part in having dominion over creation.

In the previous days of creation, whenever fish, birds, plants, insects, are discussed, there is no mention of gender – even though there are male birds, and female fish, insects, etc. It is only humans that God highlights “male and female he created them.” We are made in the image of God; when God created man He said, “Let us make man in our image,” – there is a plurality in God, and as His image bearers, we have plurality (humanity is male and female).[10]

The human relationship between a man and a woman is a reflection of the relationship between God and Himself. We don’t understand God unless we understand Him as a Trinity (Father, Son, and Spirit). We don’t understand humanity and our identity unless we understand this plurality of men and women and how they are designed to be together.

Psalm 8:5-8 “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.” Mankind is an image bearer and he is given the responsibility to oversee and rule over all of creation, as men and women, and in this responsibility, he has been “crowned with glory and honor.”

Genesis 9:5-6 shows us all of mankind are crowned with glory and honor from God, and you cannot take a human’s life without a reckoning from God, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.” (Do not murder, Ex. 20:13)

In Amos 2 we see that God’s people are facing the judgement of God, “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals — 7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted;”

All humans are made in the image of God so they should not be murdered, enslaved, or mistreated. How we treat other people is rooted in our seeking to honor how they have been created in the image of God – crowned with glory and honor by God. This person is God’s creation, we should be careful how we treat God’s creation.

Also, to be made in the image of God is to be made eternal. Mankind was originally designed to live forever.

You Are Blessed By God to Give God Glory (vv. 28-30)

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

Genesis 2:18 “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” God created man with a desire, he was incomplete by-himself. It was the woman who fulfills that part of him that he knows he is missing.

Being created by God, given dominion over the earth, he has also given them the blessing of being able to themselves create life, to “Be fruitful and multiply.” “God is the original possessor of life. Therefore, life is a gift from God – both spiritual life by new birth and natural life by the creation of the soul. . . If each human life is the life of a soul as well as a body, then each human life is created by God. Humans may act as participants in the making of a new body, but humans do not create the soul. God does.”[11]

Psalm 95:6 “. . . let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!” Psalm 139:13-14 “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Men and women as a unit, that complete each other, both play a role in bringing new life into the world. Neither is capable of bringing life into the word without the other. Each gender has a role to play in having dominion over creation and bringing new life into the world.

“Being human means being a sexual person. Human sexuality and sexual bonding between husband and wife are deemed “very good” (1:31) by God and are to be honored as the divine ordinance for men and women. There is no place in God’s good order for unisexuality or for diminishing or confusion of sexual identity.”[12]

(v. 27) “male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them.” – “God created in his image a male and a female. Both share the image of God. Sexuality Is not an accident of nature, nor is it simply biological phenomenon. Instead it is a gift of God.”[13]

Thinking about men and women and bringing children into this world, go back and look at v. 26 “Let us make man in our image,” and then later in v. 27 “So God created man in his own image,” – God has just completed creation for the first five days, but here God stops, “but before undertaking the next act of creation God took counsel. This unique reference to God’s reflecting in community before making something underscores both the importance and the uniqueness of what God was about to create.”[14] But God creates in the context of plurality.

The Godhead stopped and discussed how humans would affect them. The Father knew they would rebel and so he would have to send the Son to redeem them, The Son knew it would cost them His life, abandonment and wrath from the Father, the Spirit would have to counsel them, convict them of sin, etc. – so God, amongst Himself, considered these things. It is this communication and contemplation that serves as an example for us – husbands and wives considering and discussing.

(see Psalm 8:5-8) “He [God] crowned him [humanity] in three ways; first by bestowing upon him a posterity – ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ (1:28a). From Adam and Eve the whole human race was to spring. Adam is consistently seen in the Bible as the federal head of the human race.” Secondly, “God crowned Adam with a position (1:28b) giving him dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing.” And Finally, “God crowned Adam with a possession (1:29-31). He gave him paradise to enjoy.”[15]

(v. 28) “And God blessed them,” – “To bless is to bestow not only a gift but a function, and to do so with warm concern.”[16] Genesis 2:3 “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” You are given a gift, but it is also the living out, an expectation of using the gift, or exercising the gift, that is the full blessing. You are expected to do something with the gift that has been given.

The crowning with glory and honor, the ability to exercise dominion over creation, and the blessing from God to bring life into this world, all flow from God to humanity and they are expected to follow His God ordained order of creation. Men and Women receiving and obeying God’s Word, fulfilling their God-given calling, being blessed by God and bringing life into this world, in the context of a godly marriage and family.[17]

Conclusion

 Humanity was created by God to give Him glory, and Humanity was redeemed back from sin and the fall to give God glory – ultimately our salvation if for God’s glory alone.

______________________

[1] The two overriding concerns of the Reformation were religious authority and the doctrine of salvation.

[2] David Vandrunen, God’s Glory Alone, The Majestic Heart of Christian Faith and Life (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 2015) 16.

[3] Romans 1:18 ff.

[4] Exodus 20:3, 4

[5] Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. Doctrine (Crossroads; Wheaton, Illinois, 2007) 121.

[6] imago dei

[7] Clifton Allen, General Editor, The Broadman Bible Commentary, Volume 1 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1969) 125.

[8] John E. Hartley, New International Biblical Commentary, Genesis (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 2000) 49.

[9] Gerald Von Rad, The Old Testament Library, Genesis (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Westminster Press, 1956) 58.

[10] Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1990) 38.

[11] John Piper, Providence (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2020) 343.

[12] Kenneth A. Matthews, The New American Commentary, Genesis 1-11:26 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1996) 174.

[13] Victor P. Hamilton, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-17 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991) 139.

[14] Hartley, 47.

[15] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis, An Expository Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Kregel Publications, 1980) 46.

[16] Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Genesis, An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove, Illinois; Inter-Varsity Press, 1967) 52.

[17] Mark 10:6-8, Matthew 19:4-5

“Are You Ready to Feel the Earth Move?” Mark 16:1-8

Are You Ready to Feel the Earth Move?

Mark 16:1-8

Introduction

This morning we will look at three stages of Christian life.  One is doing things because we feel like we are supposed to.  Then there is living in guilt and not knowing what to do next.  The third, there is following a God given calling upon our lives.  We have to make a choice where they will stay, of those three choices the one we stay at is either safe and secure or it will scare us to death. It is this decision and commitment to follow Christ wherever he leads to gives excitement and purpose to life.

Prayer

Jesus I pray for the people within this room.  They are at different stages of life, from different parts of the world, from all different walks of life – but there is a common bond between us, and that is you.  You go before us, this morning give us boldness to follow You as we never have before.

 The Resurrection Causes Us To Expect the Unexpected (vv. 1)

“When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.”

In order to buy spices to prepare Jesus’ body for proper burial, the women would have had to have waited until sunset on Friday when the shops reopened after the Passover Feast.  It was too late by then to prepare Jesus’ body.

Knowing that the shops were closed, Luke tells us that they chose to follow those who took Jesus’ body to the tomb to see where he was to be buried.  John 19:39-40 tells us that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had already anointed the body, or placed over 75 pounds of spices around his body, and wrapped Jesus’ body in a cloth.

Apparently, Nicodemus’ and Joseph’s burial preparation was not adequate to the women’s standard so that night they prepared the spices, they had purchased.  The next day they rested during the day of Sabbath in observance of the law.

It was a hot climate and after two and a half days, a body would have been well on its way toward decomposition.  This willingness to deal with the decay shows the women’s devotion to Christ. Their willingness to purchase the expensive spices also shows their love for Him.

So the men (in John 19) and the women coming to him here early in the morning  did not expect a resurrection of Jesus.  If they had expected Jesus to come back to life, then they all would have been there waiting outside the tomb. Not to mention the male disciples are in no way even interested in going to the tomb until after they heard he had risen.

If the men and the women had expected Jesus to be raised again, why waste the money on spices, and why shed all the tears?  No one really expected to see Jesus Christos again.  Later on the angel says, “just as He had said (v. 7),” – but they didn’t believe Him.  They expected to see the decaying corpse Jesus that they had laid in the tomb.  But they did not expect to really see the Jesus who said, “I am the resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).”

What Jesus do you expect to be in your life?  The disciples loved Jesus, the women loved Jesus but they did not believe in the resurrected Jesus (that would come later).

 There are all kinds of different Jesus’ – There is little baby Jesus.  We get him out once a year, set him some where in our homes, he may even bought him at Wal-Mart, he’s life size and plastic.  But you know what, little baby Jesus is safe.  He’s easy to take out and put away when it’s convenient or the season is over.  Little baby Jesus doesn’t ask very much of us, only that we say, “awww how cute.”

 There is also Sunday School Jesus – He’s there for me at the building and I can leave him there.  He doesn’t follow me around, he is made of felt and I can pick Him up, stick Him on a flannel board, and next week when I come back, He’ll be right there.  He had some interesting things to say but it’s not like I am going to take him with me anywhere.

 There is also the dead Jesus – This Jesus makes me feel horrible.  He went through all the agony of the crucifixion and bore my sins, and then he died.  They buried Him, the disciples were sad, his mother was sad.  Those close to him went away without hope.  Tears were shed.  This Jesus makes me feel guilty because of all the bad things I have done.

Is there another Jesus? And if there is another Jesus what do we really expect Him to be like, and how does this other Jesus affect us?  Let’s have a look.

The Resurrection Causes Us To Live A Faith in Life (vv. 2-8)

“And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

The women did not expect to be able to get into the grave to prepare his body, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” A better way to read this sentence is, “and they kept on asking who will roll the stone away?” From the time they left their home, to the time they arrived they were asking this question.

“Salome, how are going to move that stone?” “Mary, I don’t know how, but we must go and do this.”  They were driven in a respect for the dead, to anoint his body in a fitting way, they were fixated, they had to do this, even though they didn’t know how they would accomplish it.

These women were fixed on taking steps of faith in death.  How they were going to do it, they didn’t know – but they took step after step that took them to the tomb.  All along the way, they were looking down.  They were carrying the weight of the spices, they were carrying the weight of the reality that their beloved teacher and friend has been brutally crucified.

And when they arrived and looked up, “And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large.”

These women were about to be challenged to go deeper in their faith.  Now was a time to take steps of faith in life.  In their minds they could see themselves preparing a body for burial (as hard as that was) but they couldn’t see themselves doing what the Resurrected Jesus was telling them to do!  When we encounter the Resurrected Jesus, it changes everything.

They discover that there is an angel there who tells them that “He has risen; he is not here.”  And look at their response – (v. 8) “And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”

They had the strength to do what they were supposed to do.  Women were supposed to take care of this kind of stuff.  Are you ok, with doing what you feel a good mom or dad is supposed to do? Are you ok with doing what a good spouse is supposed to do? Go to church, be a nice person, don’t cuss, help out somewhere.

They had the faith to make their way to the tomb – they didn’t know how they would move the stone, but they went anyway.  But when the angel told them to be missionaries, when the angel told them to proclaim, “He is Risen.”  They are over come with fear and trembling.

In bewilderment they fled.  They said nothing – they were afraid.  These women who had the strength to prepare the decayed body of their good friend – were blown away with what to do with a resurrected Jesus.

They did not expect to see an angel, to receive instructions, or to be sent as God’s representatives or messengers.  They simply did not expect their lives to be any different than they were right then.

They want their friend, healer, teacher, that Jesus back.  They want the Jesus they can hug, and have smile at them.  They don’t know what to do with the Resurrected Jesus who sends them to be on mission.  They don’t want things to change, but God has a bigger plan.

Get this, being a Christian is more than doing what you are supposed to do.  You don’t need the Resurrected Jesus to do what the world expects for a good person to do.  When we encounter the Resurrected Christ He sends us and calls us to do things that are beyond what our tiny minds can fathom.  We must have Him, if we are to accomplish the size of tasks He calls us to.

The women “8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”  When was the last time you encountered Christ and upon understanding the scope of what he desires to do through your life that it left you trembling?

“Lord I can’t do that” bewildered “Lord, how is that even possible?” When was the last time as you stood in His presence that you could say nothing, under the weight of the calling upon your life – “Lord you will do this through my life?”

The Jesus who had been with them, is now the resurrected Christ who would go before them.  The angel said, “’He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”  He is not here – where is here?  He is not where you are at this moment.  Right now you are standing in the tomb, under the weight of spices to anoint a body.

Drew, you don’t know how bad of a person I am.  If you could see my heart then you would know that there is no way that Jesus could forgive me.  He is not here – He has Risen! He has moved on.  It is time for you to move on as well.  Jesus goes before us, He call us to do great things on His behalf, “just as he tells us.”

The Jesus on the cross does leave us feeling guilty, he died for our sins – but the Resurrected Jesus tells his angels to give a message to the disciples.  Remember all the disciples had left Him, and denied Him, and felt absolutely hopeless.

1 Corinthians 15:17, 19 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.  19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.”  The resurrection changes things.

The angel says, “tell his disciples and Peter” – why does Jesus specifically send a message to Peter?  Matthew 26:69-75 “Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. 70But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said. 71Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.” 72He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!” 73After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.” 74Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. 75Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.”

Peter swears that he would never leave Jesus, even if it cost him his life – but only a short time later, sure enough he denies Jesus on three different occasions.  Peter felt horrible because of his sin, but Jesus was going before this disciple who had fallen and failed.

Because Jesus completed our restoration back to God, and finished what was required for salvation – we who have failed and fallen in Christ can keep on going.  We can start over.  He still goes before us; He still calls us to follow Him.

He goes before us into eternity, John 14:1-3 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

When the disciples get to Galilee Jesus sends them on a mission;  Matthew 28:16-20 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Just as Jesus sent the women, and the disciples, Jesus also sends us.  What if I fail “Jesus is not in the tomb, He is Risen.’  “How will I know what to do?” Jesus goes before us, He will lead the way.  What if I die, “Jesus has prepared a place for us.”

We are in three areas of faith, one is doing what you are supposed to do, walking in death.  One is to do what we have been sent to do, walking in life.  But don’t get stuck in the tomb – Jesus is not there, He has gone on before you.  What step of faith do you need to take this morning?

Closing

The first step might just be asking Jesus for forgiveness of your sin, and thanking Him for dying on the cross.  He did this for us as a gift that each person can receive or deny.  Another step might be moving beyond the guilt of your send and asking God to show what He desires to do through your life.

 Someone here may already know the answer to that question, but has been holding back and not fully surrendering to what God has told you or called you to do – whatever the commitment is, do it today.

 

“Best Christmas Ever” Sermon Series, “Discovering the Joy of God’s Plan For Your Life” Week #3 Luke 1:26-45

Discovering the Joy of God’s Plan For Your Life
Luke 1:26-45

Introduction
When you’re a kid you think that you can do the impossible. My friend Lynn and I had been playing at her home and we came across this shed in her backyard and I had an idea. What is we hauled our bikes to the top of this shed and at break neck rode the bike down the slope? After some discussion Lynn seemed to be ok with it so up we went hauling our bikes to the top of this shed.
The theory was, that there was a layer of pine straw, so if we were not able to stick the landing, the straw would be a padding. We looked at each other, and I said “ladies first.” She climbed on her bike and off she went – things did not go as I had originally thought they would go – she sit the ground like bag of cement. She kind of rolled over, and I helped her back to the house. To this day we have never discussed the fact that I never went down the roof.

Anyway, I took away from this experiment that jumping with a bike from too high is not a good idea. Thank you Lynn for helping me learn that lesson. Eventually, in life we learn that there are some things that we can do, and some things that we can not do – but it is having a relationship with God that He works through us to accomplish the impossible.

God’s Plan For Mary (vv. 26-33)
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

The sixth month refers to Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, not the sixth month of the year. God’s plan for Elizabeth, Zachariah, and John the Baptist have already been in place for six months. God had already began the process of birthing the one who would run ahead of Jesus in the desert.

Gabriel was sent to a virgin named Mary who was engaged to a man named Joseph. Their marriage process was slightly different than our own today. A father would seek to find a wife for his son. Once a girl was found the son’s approval was sought and then a dowry was paid to the father of the bride since he was losing a daughter and a valuable helper.

A written agreement was drawn up and the couple were considered to be married; but there was no sexual contact during this “engagement” time. The engagement could not be broken except in instances of adultery. But if this were the case then there would be great shame on the part of the offender.

Time would pass and there would be a religious ceremony and then the couple would consummate the marriage. It was between the engagement and the ceremony that Gabriel appears before Mary.

“Greetings, you who are highly favored!” – Luke is careful to let us know that this favor is not because Mary had any kind of special holiness in her life. There was nothing about her life that would have earned this type of privileged responsibility. God in His grace and mercy just chose her.

God in his grace and mercy has a very special plan for each of our lives as well. God desires to use us to do great things for His name. Mary is an example to us of a person who was called by God to do something wonderful and she did it faithfully. Let’s look to see how Mary sought to carry out her calling.

She Knew God Was With Her
“The Lord is with you” – This is not a wish that God would be with her, but a statement of fact – The Lord is with you. kurios meaning supreme in authority, the controller. The God who was with her was supreme, He was in control, He who has all authority would be with her. Not just in the beginning – but all the way through.

She would need to know that the Lord is with when she was to approach Joseph and tell him that she is pregnant. She would need to know that God is with her when she would have to travel from Nazareth to Jerusalem while she would be “great with child.” She would need to know that God is with her when she has to deliver this child in a filthy stable.

She would need to know the Lord was with her when she learns that Herod desired to kill her child – and as she escaped to Egypt. She would have to know that the Lord was with her when the child would become a man – she would watch as he would lay down his tool belt and leave for a public ministry. She would have to let him go.

She would have to know that the Lord was with her as she watched as he would be rejected, spit upon, cursed, ripped to pieces by a Roman cat-of-nine-tails. Mary would have clung to these precious words “The Lord is with you” as she watched her precious Son hang on an old rugged cross for the sins of the world.

As she heard him cry out, “IT IS FINISHED!” and sink into death. She would have to know that the Lord was with her as she looked into the face of her dead son, beaten beyond recognition, wiping his face and body of blood, wrapping his body in cloth and lying his limp body into a tomb. She would need these words from Gabriel.

Notice that Mary is not afraid at Gabriel’s presence, but it his words that cause her to be afraid. These words should cause us to cry out in joy “The Lord is with you!” These words should also drive us to our knees in prayer because if God has called us to accomplish great things for Him, things that can be accomplished only by “The Lord being with us” – then there will be great heartache and circumstances that require us to call out to Him and to cling to His Word.

Matthew 1:22-23 “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”-which means, “God with us.”

Not only would The Lord be with Mary but “God is with us.” Just as Mary would have clung to the words “The Lord is with you,” We can rejoice that God is with us. The Son of the Most High Stepped out of heaven and would come to be among us – to be with us.

John 1:1, 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

She Knew God Called Her To Do Something Great
Gabriel gives several things that describe the son she was to name Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Whereas John would be known as a great man, the difference between John and Jesus is that His greatness would be related to His being the Son of God. Jesus was God in the flesh, who came from heaven to dwell with us.

This child that she would give birth to, would be a king; But he would be different than Saul, David, Solomon, or any other earthly king – The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; Not only would he be a king, but His reign will be for all of eternity.

Responses To Christ

Matthew 27:27-31 “Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.”

Revelation 19:11-16 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Here are the two responses that people would have to the Son of God. One of mockery, and falsely following the King; or one of standing in awe and reverent fear of the Son of God.

The shepherds ran and told their town about what they had seen and heard, they later returned to worship and praise the Christ child. The Magi from the west came over long distances and brought gifts fit for a king. This evening as we re-discover Christmas, what is your response to Christ; a mocking bow or reverential following?

God’s Plan For Mary Was Impossible – for her (vv. 34-38)
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 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. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Where Zechariah in the previous verses had wanted more proof from Gabriel that his message was going to come true, Mary asks about how this would come about (since she was a virgin.)

She is seeking to know more about God’s plan because she did not understand. The only explanation she gets is “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” God will make it so. There are several things in the Bible that we can not fully understand or explain.

We do not know how God created the world – only that he did. We have, for example, God the Father sending and angel, The Holy Spirit directing the pregnancy, and the Son Jesus being brought into the world – the Trinity is something difficult to grasp but none the less true.

This Jesus would be fully God and fully man at the same time. How do these things happen? God. Not a blind faith, but a faith upon the evidence revealed to us and taking Him at His Word. “For nothing is impossible with God.”

She recognizes that she is a servant of the Lord, and He has the right to do with her anything He desires. But she is a servant of one where nothing is impossible. A servant follows her master.

You may be here tonight, and your life is not where you thought it would end up, give it to God “For nothing is impossible with God.” No matter how damaged the marriage, no matter how wayward the child, no matter how little in the checking account, “For nothing is impossible with God.” no matter how strong the urge, no matter whether you see how it will work out or not “For nothing is impossible with God”

If God can make a virgin girl become pregnant, if He came shape time and space to orchestrate a star for shepherds and Magi to see and move it at will, if God can fulfill hundreds of prophecy regarding Jesus’ birth and life, if he can give Zechariah and Elizabeth a child in their old age, than he can surely handle anything you desire to lay at his feet.

There will be a time in your life when God will desire to use you to be a part of something amazing, beyond anything you ever could have imagined – and He may just say, “follow me into the impossible.” Our response must be like Mary’s; “Lord, I don’t know how you are going to do this, but here I am. . . “May it be to me as you have said.” God is the God of the impossible.

Mary Raced To See Elizabeth (vv. 39-45)
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Immediately after discovering God’s plan for her life, she got ready and went to celebrate with Elizabeth and her miraculous pregnancy. The angel had told Mary that God had allowed Elizabeth to have a child. So she goes to see it for herself. One impossibility coming together with another impossibility.

How is it that we have been so blessed by God in so many ways? Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” God is always working impossibilities in the lives of those who say, “May it be to me as you have said.” God desires that we meet together to share these things and encourage each other.

Elizabeth says, “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Whereas before they would have met and talked about the mundane things of life, even seeing their relationship as casual.

But now she feels honored, “favored” that Mary would come by. Oh, how their conversations would change – what would the two ladies who had experienced the impossible say to each other? Let us meet and discuss the things of God regularly.

Conclusion
The fact that God would gives us an opportunity to receive Christ and how God made the impossible possible is the wonder of Christmas. In order for God to work in your life; realize that He is with you. He has directed you here tonight – because for His love and desire to do great things through you.

Secondly, realize that it is impossible for you to go to heaven or do great things – without God’s help. That is why Jesus was born into the world, to save us from our sins. What is impossible for us, is possible for an almighty God.

If you would like to ask Christ to come into your life and forgive you of your sins, you can say a prayer something like this: “Dear Jesus I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite you to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. Amen.”

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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