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Speaker: Putting Mary in her
place, maybe wondering what in the

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world is, is this gonna be about.

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We have to deal with the history of
Mary and the church, and if you've

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got any familiarity with the Catholic
church, maybe you've come outta

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the Catholic Church, maybe you have
attended the Catholic church recently.

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The Catholic Church has created a lot of
confusion around the figure of, of Mary.

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This is a, a drawing,
this is a work of art.

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Done.

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Within the last century by a Catholic
nun, uh, here in the United States, and

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I, I appreciate a lot of it in, in that.

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You've got Eve on the one side who is
looking ashamed and, and she's holding

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the forbidden fruit in her hand there.

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And you've got the serpent wrapped
around her leg and she's coming to Mary

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and she's looking longingly at clearly
what is the child in Mary's womb there?

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Mary and Eve, two interesting
figures in scripture.

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But even as we look at this picture,
we see some of what has happened here

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with the, the false understanding
of Mary, because you'll look and see

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that Mary is actually the one who
is crushing the head of the serpent

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here in the picture, as you'll look
underneath the foot of Mary there.

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And the problem with that is the promise
was not that Mary would crush the head

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of the serpent, but that the offspring of
Eve would crush the head of the serpent.

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That one that would ultimately yes, come
through, Mary would, but the problem

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is we've taken Mary and we've done.

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Things that Mary was never
intended to, to accomplish.

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We've, we've looked to her for, for
things that we shouldn't look to her.

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For example, this is a book that
was written by a Catholic father.

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Uh, it says, Mary, mother of Jesus.

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The Catholic's guide to the
Life, faith and Devotion of Mary.

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If you've been paying attention to
the news recently, you may have found

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the Vatican's statement regarding
Mary's title as Cox, where they came

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out and said, in, in this case, the
expression Cox, that is co redeemer.

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Does not help extol notice that language
there does not help extol, which means

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to praise Mary as the first and foremost
collaborator in the work of redemption and

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grace for it carries the risk of eclipsing
the role of Jesus Christ into that.

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I can only say duh, right?

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Uh, Mary is not a Cox.

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Uh, Mary is also not to be extolled.

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Mary is not a collaborator in the process
of the grace and redemption of humanity.

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That said, I do think as the
church, we have to ask the

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question, what do we do with Mary?

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What should we do with Mary?

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If, on the one hand, the Catholic
Church has aired by making too much

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of Mary, I, I might suggest, and
I'd like to suggest this morning

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that we as the Protestant Church.

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Have potentially not
considered Mary enough.

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And I want us to think about Mary this
morning from Luke chapter one, and as

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we consider the interaction between
Mary and Gabriel, I want us to look to

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Mary as an example for us this morning.

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I want us to look to Mary this
morning to walk away and be reminded

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that this Christmas, maybe we need
to be a little bit more like Mary,

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at least in a few of these ways.

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So take your Bibles open
up to Luke chapter one.

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We're gonna begin together in verse 26.

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Luke one verse 26 says this, in the
sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent

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from God to a city of Galilee named
Nazareth to a virgin betrothed, to a man

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whose name was Joseph of the house of
David, and the Virgin's name was Mary.

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And he came to her and said,
greetings, O favored one.

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The Lord is with you.

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But she was greatly troubled at the
saying and tried to discern what

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sort of greeting this might be.

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Luke begins here in the sixth month.

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Now, context before this, we've seen
the angel show up to Zechariah, who

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would be the father of John the Baptist
and announced to Jack Zechariah that

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Zechariah, your wife, is going to
conceive and, and you are going to

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have a son, Zechariah, and that son is
going to to go before the the Messiah.

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He's gonna be.

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Forerunner and Zechariah responded and
said, how is that even gonna be possible

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for my wife is beyond childbearing
age, and I, myself am am an old man.

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And, and the angel said, well, you're
not gonna be able to speak as assigned

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to you until this child is born.

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So the context here, when we read it
in the sixth month, is that the, it's

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the sixth month of the pregnancy of
Elizabeth Mary's family member there.

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And so during the sixth month,
the, the angel Gabriel now comes to

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announce another impending birth,
but this time he comes to Mary.

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And it says Gabriel was sent from God
to a city of Galilee named Nazareth.

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Uh, the, the word sent from God is
the verbal form of the word angel.

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It means sent one angel Anglos in
the Greek messenger or sent one.

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So he's dispatched from the presence
of God to Mary with a message, and it

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says to a virgin betrothed to a man
whose name was Joseph of the house of

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David, and the Virgin's name was Mary.

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Uh, we find a word here in the
text that causes some to stumble

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over, and that is the word virgin.

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And some have argued, well, this
should be read as the word young

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woman instead of the word virgin.

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But in the Greek, the word parthenons
13 or rather, excuse me, 14 outta

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15 times that it shows up in the New
Testament means virgin in the traditional

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understanding of the word virgin.

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That this is a young woman who had never
known a man intimately, who had never been

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in that sort of a relationship with a man.

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And so the angel comes to her,
this virgin young girl, probably

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anywhere from 14 to 16 years old
at this point in Jewish society.

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That was normal marriageable
age for these young girls.

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And she comes or the
angel comes to her in, in.

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She was betrothed that says in the text
to a man whose name was, was Joseph.

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Joseph's an interesting
character for us in scripture.

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We don't know a whole lot about Joseph.

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We know very little about Joseph.

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In fact, it seems that Joseph
disappeared from the life of Jesus

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at an early age that he probably
passed away while Jesus was young.

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What we do know about Joseph,
though we read part of it here,

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that he was of the house of David.

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That's gonna be significant for us
because Jesus, as the promised Messiah,

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had to come in the lineage of David.

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This is also significance because
Jesus was going to be born,

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according to Micah, the prophecy
in the town of Bethlehem, of Roha.

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That was the city of David.

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And so Joseph's lineage here being of
the house of David, holds weight for us.

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And so we do know that.

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So that's significant.

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And it's even noted here.

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The other things we know about.

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Joseph come from other gospels.

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For example, in Matthew one 19, we
read that Joseph was a righteous man.

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Uh, that that's a simple statement,
but is noteworthy for us.

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And being a righteous man when he
found out about Mary's pregnancy,

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realizing this isn't my son that
you're having, uh, he thought, what ev.

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Anyone would think at the
time and thought, okay, well I

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need to end this relationship.

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But he didn't want to shame Mary publicly.

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And so being a righteous man, he
sought to set her aside quietly.

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But then the angel showed up to
Joseph and told Joseph, Joseph,

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no, take her as your wife.

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This child is from the Lord.

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This child is from God.

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And so we find out from Matthew 1 24 that
Joseph was a man of faith, and so Joseph

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is going to be Jesus' adopted father.

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Mary is gonna be Jesus' mother, and she
is this virgin who is betrothed to Joseph.

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The word betrothed is, is one that
is a little bit stronger than our,

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our concept of engagement here.

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It's not full-blown marriage,
but it is, it is a process that

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culminates in marriage and it's,
uh, essentially guaranteed that

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this is gonna be what happens here.

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And so this is a, a relationship where
you have these two young Israelites

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who are planning their lives together.

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You've got young Mary who's thinking
about being married to Joseph, this poor

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Jewish carpenter, and she's thinking
about their babies that they're gonna

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have and what their life is gonna be like.

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And all of a sudden, here comes an angel.

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And the angel Gabriel shows up to
Mary, this young teen girl, and

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she's greeted this way by the angel.

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Greetings.

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He says, oh, favored one,
the Lord is with you.

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Greetings, oh, favored.

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One, meaning greetings,
blessed of the Lord.

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Greetings you who have received
kindness and grace from God.

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And first Peter, we talked about
how when we suffer well, that it's a

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gracious thing in the sight of God.

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In other words, that there are
things, there are ways that we can

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conduct ourselves in this life that
catch the eye of God, so to speak.

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I think we can assume that God
saw something about Mary here that

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caused him to say, she's the one.

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She's the one now.

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Yes.

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We know from the sovereign perspective
of God that Mary was chosen for this role

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from before the foundations of the earth.

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But Mary was chosen for this
role because of the life that

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she was living at the time.

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Notice God would come to redeem
Mary Magdalene, but he didn't

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choose Mary Magdalene to be the
one to carry the Christ child.

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He came to Mary, he came to this
young virgin teenage Israelite

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girl who was betrothed to Joseph.

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Uh, again, Mary's planning her
life and here comes this greeting

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from this angel, and it says in the
text that she was greatly troubled.

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As any of us would be.

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She was greatly troubled.

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It's a word that is more than
just perplexed or confused.

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She's overwhelmed.

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She's afraid at this greeting.

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She's terrified at the presence
of the angel in front of her.

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She's trying to discern what
sort of greeting this might be.

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She had no paradigm for this.

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Part of our struggle at Christmas
time is to get ourselves out of the

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familiarity that we have with the Bible.

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I is to try to read it afresh again, to
try to come to the story that we've heard.

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If you've been in the church since you
were knee high to a grasshopper, right.

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To, to try to come to this story
that is so familiar, that has been

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commercialized and told time and time
again and, and to read it afresh.

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And so I just want you to, to think
this morning, like Mary would've

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thought at this time to put yourselves
in the shoes of Mary and to realize,

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man, of course, she would've been
alarmed by this because she had no

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way to understand what was going on.

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No paradigm to understand
what was happening here.

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But again, greetings, O favored one.

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What did that mean?

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Why?

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Why was Mary favored?

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God chose Mary for this role.

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She caught his eye and drew his favor.

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And we're gonna read between the lines
a little bit here, but I hope you'll

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indulge me in that Mary, I don't believe,
was waiting for God to tap her on the

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shoulder to say, okay, I want to use you,
so you need to be ready for me to use you.

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Now, I, I, I believe that Mary
was already living in such a way

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that she was ready for God to use.

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Her, I believe Mary was, was prepared.

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I believe what we're gonna see even
as we continue in our study, that Mary

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had a knowledge of the word of God.

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I believe that she was
a great woman of faith.

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I believe that she was submissive
to the will of the, the, the

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Father, and that she was willing to
follow him no matter what happened.

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Mary was a righteous woman.

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Mary was ready and already prepared to
be used by God when the angel showed up.

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And so this Christmas, I wanna ask
you, are you ready to be used by God?

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Like Mary was ready to be used by God?

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That's our first point this morning.

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It's this be available for God like Mary.

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Be available for God like Mary.

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Now, none of you are gonna have
an angel show up and tap you on

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the shoulder and say, greetings.

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Oh, favor one.

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The Lord is with you.

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But think about this.

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You have an advantage sitting here
and being ready for the Lord to

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use you that Mary didn't have.

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Okay?

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You have a leg up on Mary here.

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Think about it.

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Mary is gonna carry the
son of God to full term.

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And give birth to him.

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She's gonna swaddle him.

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She's gonna rock him to sleep.

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She's gonna soothe him.

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When he cries.

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She is going to take him by the
hand and lead him to and fro.

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She's gonna help him reach things
that were too high for him.

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She's gonna teach him how to count.

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And yet, as far as being prepared for
the Lord to use us, we have something

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today that Mary wouldn't have had
herself for another three decades.

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00:11:33,074 --> 00:11:36,254
What you and I have this morning
is we have the Holy Spirit dwelling

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00:11:36,254 --> 00:11:37,515
within us if we're in Christ.

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00:11:38,655 --> 00:11:39,884
Mary didn't have that at this point.

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00:11:40,724 --> 00:11:44,145
She had the Son of God come to take up
gestational residence with him in her

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00:11:44,145 --> 00:11:49,004
for nine months, but even that was not
what you and I have in the presence

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00:11:49,004 --> 00:11:50,265
of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

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00:11:52,290 --> 00:11:55,800
Let me point you back to to John
chapter 16, verses five through seven.

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00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:57,479
You don't have to turn there,
lemme just read it for you.

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00:11:57,900 --> 00:11:59,310
Jesus is getting ready to leave.

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00:11:59,310 --> 00:12:02,384
He's gonna go to the cross, and then he's
gonna go rise from the dead and then he

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00:12:02,384 --> 00:12:03,540
is gonna ascend to be with the Father.

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00:12:03,540 --> 00:12:05,160
And the disciples are upset about this.

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00:12:05,160 --> 00:12:08,790
And so Jesus says this, I'm going
to him who sent me and none of

241
00:12:08,790 --> 00:12:10,530
you asks me where are you going?

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00:12:10,979 --> 00:12:14,040
But because I've said these things
to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

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00:12:14,339 --> 00:12:17,729
Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth, it's to your advantage.

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00:12:18,135 --> 00:12:22,905
The son of God, Jesus in the flesh is
telling his followers, his disciples.

245
00:12:23,295 --> 00:12:27,464
It's to your advantage that I
go away for if I do not go away.

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00:12:27,645 --> 00:12:30,765
The helper that is the Holy
Spirit will not come to you.

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00:12:31,005 --> 00:12:34,094
But if I go away, I will send him to you.

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00:12:35,385 --> 00:12:38,954
Can't remember the, the first one to say
it, um, but it's been coined recently.

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00:12:39,255 --> 00:12:42,135
The spirit inside you is
better than Jesus beside you.

250
00:12:43,785 --> 00:12:47,760
And Mary had the son of God take up
residence within her womb for nine

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00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,819
months, and yet you having the spirit
dwelling within you, you've got a

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00:12:50,819 --> 00:12:53,640
leg up and being ready for God to use
you more than Mary did at this time.

253
00:12:54,479 --> 00:12:54,750
Why?

254
00:12:54,750 --> 00:12:56,219
Well, what does the Spirit do for us?

255
00:12:57,030 --> 00:12:58,740
The Spirit informs our consciences.

256
00:12:59,550 --> 00:13:00,900
The spirit convicts us of sin.

257
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:04,920
The spirit strengthens us for obedience.

258
00:13:06,089 --> 00:13:09,449
The spirit ensures that we are
going to endure in our faith.

259
00:13:10,890 --> 00:13:13,589
The Spirit is the guarantee
of our future with Jesus.

260
00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:18,209
The Spirit is the one who helps
us discern wisdom from Folly.

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00:13:19,380 --> 00:13:22,829
The Spirit is the one who illuminates
our understanding of the Bible, our

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00:13:22,829 --> 00:13:24,719
understanding of God's word as we read it.

263
00:13:25,199 --> 00:13:27,750
The Spirit guides us and leads
us in our decision making.

264
00:13:28,469 --> 00:13:30,780
The Spirit equips us to serve the church.

265
00:13:30,780 --> 00:13:33,989
The body of Christ and the
Spirit unites us together as

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00:13:33,989 --> 00:13:35,609
believers in the body of Christ.

267
00:13:37,245 --> 00:13:39,944
See, we have all of that happening
through the gift of the spirit within us.

268
00:13:39,944 --> 00:13:43,905
And that's why Jesus said, it's to your
advantage that I go away, because if I

269
00:13:43,905 --> 00:13:45,255
go away, I'm gonna give you the spirit.

270
00:13:45,255 --> 00:13:47,025
And this is what the
Spirit is gonna do for us.

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00:13:47,564 --> 00:13:50,385
And so church, we have an advantage that
Mary didn't have in being ready for the

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00:13:50,385 --> 00:13:56,535
Lord to use us, and yet it's good for us
to consider how Mary was set up for this.

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00:13:56,805 --> 00:14:00,465
Again, I, I, I believe that the
Catholic church has gone too far.

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00:14:01,199 --> 00:14:04,740
In the veneration, the Worship of
Mary, and, and yet I also think it's

275
00:14:04,740 --> 00:14:08,670
wise for us to think, I, I don't think
God just randomly chose someone for

276
00:14:08,670 --> 00:14:12,959
the task of carrying the Christ child
for those nine months to full term.

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00:14:13,770 --> 00:14:16,199
Mary, it seems as a godly young
girl who was living a life that

278
00:14:16,199 --> 00:14:17,730
availed herself to God's selection.

279
00:14:17,730 --> 00:14:21,360
And the question is, are you,
whatever you hope to see God do this

280
00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:25,319
Christmas through you, are you living
in such a way that you're ready

281
00:14:25,319 --> 00:14:26,665
for God to use you towards that?

282
00:14:30,540 --> 00:14:32,940
There's so much that we have to
speculate again, but, but lemme just

283
00:14:32,940 --> 00:14:36,990
suggest a few things about Mary that
I think we can probably assume safely.

284
00:14:37,825 --> 00:14:41,310
I, I don't think Mary had pockets
of Unconfessed secret sin in her

285
00:14:41,310 --> 00:14:45,510
life when the angel Gabriel showed
up to say, greetings of favored one.

286
00:14:46,825 --> 00:14:51,210
I, I, I don't think Mary was inconsistent
in showing up at the synagogue.

287
00:14:51,945 --> 00:14:54,975
To learn from, from the, the
teaching of the scriptures when

288
00:14:54,975 --> 00:14:57,765
the angel showed up to her and
said, greetings of, of favored one.

289
00:14:58,995 --> 00:15:02,025
I don't think Mary was just kind of
moving through her day on autopilot

290
00:15:02,025 --> 00:15:06,465
without really thinking about God until
the next Sabbath, when the angel showed

291
00:15:06,465 --> 00:15:07,814
up and said, greetings of favored one.

292
00:15:09,735 --> 00:15:12,825
I imagine Mary was probably praying
for the coming of the Messiah

293
00:15:13,575 --> 00:15:15,555
when the angel showed up and
said, greetings so favored one.

294
00:15:15,555 --> 00:15:17,115
And oh, by the way, about
the coming of the Messiah.

295
00:15:19,035 --> 00:15:22,035
I believe Mary probably was thinking
about her future family and praying

296
00:15:22,035 --> 00:15:25,574
about her marriage to Joseph and praying
about the family that God would give her.

297
00:15:26,805 --> 00:15:29,984
See, I think Mary was a godly young woman,
and so when the Lord came to use her,

298
00:15:29,984 --> 00:15:31,364
she was ready to be used by the Lord.

299
00:15:32,324 --> 00:15:33,645
Are we ready to be used by the Lord?

300
00:15:34,454 --> 00:15:36,285
How's your holiness this
Christmas season doing?

301
00:15:36,734 --> 00:15:39,194
How's your, your, are
you examining your life?

302
00:15:39,194 --> 00:15:43,004
Are you able to say, look, as, as
far as I know, I don't see anything

303
00:15:43,004 --> 00:15:44,984
in me that I need to rid my life of.

304
00:15:44,984 --> 00:15:47,864
I, I know I'm a broken sinner
and I know I do sin, but I'm, I'm

305
00:15:47,864 --> 00:15:49,004
keeping short accounts with God.

306
00:15:49,004 --> 00:15:51,584
I'm getting rid of sin because I
wanna be ready for the Lord to use me.

307
00:15:52,665 --> 00:15:54,254
How's your time in the word right now?

308
00:15:55,064 --> 00:15:56,324
Are you consistent in God's word?

309
00:15:56,444 --> 00:16:00,224
I, I know the season, it's the, well,
I'll start it up again next year, season.

310
00:16:00,990 --> 00:16:01,860
Let's not do that.

311
00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:03,810
Let's get in God's word right now.

312
00:16:04,170 --> 00:16:04,860
You don't have to wait.

313
00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,110
God's not like, well,
you missed the cutoff.

314
00:16:07,710 --> 00:16:08,189
You can't.

315
00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,189
You can't read the Bible
anymore until January 1st.

316
00:16:11,220 --> 00:16:12,689
Then read the Bible.

317
00:16:13,740 --> 00:16:14,340
Jump in.

318
00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:16,829
Jump in with us right now
in our chronological reading

319
00:16:16,829 --> 00:16:18,510
plan, or find a reading plan.

320
00:16:18,510 --> 00:16:20,910
The Dwell Bible app is a great
resource for you on that.

321
00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:22,199
It's an audio bible.

322
00:16:22,410 --> 00:16:23,220
You can listen to it.

323
00:16:23,220 --> 00:16:25,439
They've got week long plans,
they've got month long plans.

324
00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:27,449
Get in God's Word.

325
00:16:28,140 --> 00:16:29,880
How's your time in prayer doing right now?

326
00:16:30,870 --> 00:16:32,849
Are you cultivating a
relationship with God?

327
00:16:33,959 --> 00:16:36,719
Are you wanting God to use you
and yet God hasn't heard from

328
00:16:36,719 --> 00:16:38,250
you in the last three months?

329
00:16:39,449 --> 00:16:40,589
Are you communicating with him?

330
00:16:40,589 --> 00:16:41,520
Are you talking to him?

331
00:16:41,579 --> 00:16:43,020
Are you availing yourself to him?

332
00:16:44,310 --> 00:16:47,910
How's your confidence that that God is
going to do something this Christmas?

333
00:16:49,170 --> 00:16:51,839
Do you have people in your life that
you're thinking, man, I, I wanna see God

334
00:16:51,839 --> 00:16:53,400
move in this person's heart in this life.

335
00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:54,569
I wanna see God soften them.

336
00:16:54,870 --> 00:16:56,040
I wanna see God save them.

337
00:16:57,180 --> 00:16:59,580
Are you confident that God
can do that this Christmas?

338
00:17:01,755 --> 00:17:03,614
How's your contentment this Christmas?

339
00:17:04,694 --> 00:17:06,435
Are you content with the
things that God has given you?

340
00:17:08,233 --> 00:17:12,135
Are you happy with what the Lord
is doing right now in your life

341
00:17:12,765 --> 00:17:14,925
because you know that he's sovereign
and he's good over your life?

342
00:17:17,714 --> 00:17:21,135
Paul writes in Second Timothy
chapter two, verse 21, about the

343
00:17:21,135 --> 00:17:23,685
difference between an honorable
vessel and a dishonorable vessel.

344
00:17:24,450 --> 00:17:26,369
And he says this in two Timothy 2 21.

345
00:17:26,369 --> 00:17:30,180
He says, therefore, if anyone cleanses
himself from what is dishonorable, he

346
00:17:30,180 --> 00:17:35,610
will be a vessel for honorable use, set
apart as holy, useful to the master of

347
00:17:35,610 --> 00:17:37,980
the house, and ready for every good work.

348
00:17:38,790 --> 00:17:39,690
That's who we want to be.

349
00:17:39,690 --> 00:17:40,080
Church.

350
00:17:40,500 --> 00:17:43,110
We want to be a church full of
honorable vessels set apart, useful

351
00:17:43,110 --> 00:17:44,430
to the Lord for every good work.

352
00:17:45,780 --> 00:17:47,730
Are we ready for the Lord to use us?

353
00:17:48,450 --> 00:17:50,700
My family and I, we've, we've got
one of those outdoor fire pits.

354
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:52,110
Which are great.

355
00:17:52,110 --> 00:17:54,750
The problem is it doesn't fit a full log.

356
00:17:55,260 --> 00:17:55,560
Right.

357
00:17:56,130 --> 00:17:59,880
And so I have to break up the logs,
and that started with this wood

358
00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:01,470
splitter that my in-laws bought me.

359
00:18:01,470 --> 00:18:04,020
But the problem was the wood
splitter wasn't super sharp and

360
00:18:04,020 --> 00:18:05,070
I didn't have a sledgehammer.

361
00:18:05,070 --> 00:18:07,680
So I'm using a regular hammer
and a log on this wood splitter,

362
00:18:07,770 --> 00:18:09,510
and it's just not working okay.

363
00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:11,640
It just, it, it is not going well.

364
00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:14,250
It was regressive sanctification,
if I can put it that way.

365
00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:16,830
So I was like, I gotta
get something different.

366
00:18:17,165 --> 00:18:19,865
So I went out and, and being
cheap, I bought a cheap axe.

367
00:18:19,925 --> 00:18:22,535
I was like, this thing is an
axe ax is to all chop wood,

368
00:18:22,535 --> 00:18:24,005
so I'll just buy a cheap axe.

369
00:18:24,605 --> 00:18:26,795
So I brought the cheap axe home
and it did better than the wood

370
00:18:26,795 --> 00:18:28,715
splitter, but it still was not great.

371
00:18:28,745 --> 00:18:30,395
It was not doing a good job.

372
00:18:30,695 --> 00:18:32,915
I'm surprised to have all my limbs still.

373
00:18:33,820 --> 00:18:34,870
It was kinda one of those deals.

374
00:18:35,020 --> 00:18:39,399
And then my dad got me a Milwaukee
Axe, like a, a good sharp axe.

375
00:18:39,580 --> 00:18:40,990
And so I opened that thing.

376
00:18:40,990 --> 00:18:43,690
I cut myself through by looking at it
like that's how sharp this thing was.

377
00:18:43,750 --> 00:18:46,960
And I started using that and
it just cuts it like butter.

378
00:18:47,050 --> 00:18:49,300
And it's like, man, I needed
this thing the whole time.

379
00:18:49,629 --> 00:18:52,960
So now when it's time for a fire pit
outside, I think to myself, okay,

380
00:18:53,260 --> 00:18:54,520
I'm not gonna use the wood splitter.

381
00:18:54,639 --> 00:18:56,020
I'm not gonna use the dull axe.

382
00:18:56,020 --> 00:18:57,460
I need my, my sharp axe.

383
00:18:57,820 --> 00:19:00,550
I know the tool I need to use for
the job, and that tool is always

384
00:19:00,550 --> 00:19:01,550
gonna be ready for me to use it.

385
00:19:02,715 --> 00:19:05,235
Are we the sharp acts
for God this Christmas?

386
00:19:05,955 --> 00:19:09,165
Are you ready for him to do what
he wants to do in and through

387
00:19:09,165 --> 00:19:10,215
you this Christmas season?

388
00:19:11,145 --> 00:19:13,605
Are you preparing yourself
to be used by God?

389
00:19:13,605 --> 00:19:14,145
Like Mary?

390
00:19:15,795 --> 00:19:19,695
Mary was initially troubled at the Angels
greeting, but then Gabriel kept going

391
00:19:19,785 --> 00:19:22,930
and if she was troubled at Oh favored
one, she hadn't heard anything yet.

392
00:19:24,045 --> 00:19:25,815
Verse 30 we pick up and it says this.

393
00:19:25,815 --> 00:19:29,145
And the angel said to her, do
not be afraid, Mary, for you

394
00:19:29,145 --> 00:19:30,435
have found favor with God.

395
00:19:30,525 --> 00:19:34,215
And behold, you will conceive in your
womb and bear a son and you shall call

396
00:19:34,215 --> 00:19:38,535
his name Jesus and he will be great and
will be called the son of the most high.

397
00:19:38,565 --> 00:19:42,225
And the Lord God will give him, give
to him the throne of his father, David.

398
00:19:42,285 --> 00:19:45,735
And he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever and of his kingdom.

399
00:19:45,885 --> 00:19:48,285
There will be no end.

400
00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,340
So Mary's troubled and the angel
greets her and says, do not be afraid.

401
00:19:54,450 --> 00:19:58,470
Do not be afraid for you
have found favor with God.

402
00:19:58,470 --> 00:19:59,670
That's the the repetition.

403
00:20:00,030 --> 00:20:01,140
Greetings, oh favored one.

404
00:20:01,140 --> 00:20:01,770
Do not be afraid.

405
00:20:01,770 --> 00:20:03,210
For you have found favor with God.

406
00:20:03,210 --> 00:20:04,710
You have found grace with God.

407
00:20:04,710 --> 00:20:06,480
You have found kindness from God.

408
00:20:07,530 --> 00:20:10,590
And then he goes on to explain
things, he says, and behold, you will

409
00:20:10,590 --> 00:20:14,430
conceive in your womb and bear a son
and you shall call his name Jesus.

410
00:20:15,345 --> 00:20:18,255
The net Bible, the new English
translation puts it very frankly,

411
00:20:18,255 --> 00:20:22,365
you will become pregnant and
give birth to a son once more.

412
00:20:22,365 --> 00:20:24,795
Consider Mary's
perspective in all of this.

413
00:20:24,855 --> 00:20:26,925
We read this through our eyes.

414
00:20:26,925 --> 00:20:31,185
Having be been so familiar with the,
the birth story of Jesus for so long,

415
00:20:31,575 --> 00:20:32,715
we think, well, of course, yeah.

416
00:20:32,715 --> 00:20:34,515
Mary's gonna give birth
the, the Virgin Mary.

417
00:20:34,515 --> 00:20:36,765
It's okay though, because the Holy
Spirit's gonna overshadow her.

418
00:20:37,065 --> 00:20:40,635
Of course, you know, but
she, she's not there yet.

419
00:20:41,505 --> 00:20:44,715
At this point, young teenage Mary
is thinking about the fact that

420
00:20:44,715 --> 00:20:48,195
she wants to be married to Joseph
and have a family with Joseph.

421
00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:51,675
And, and, and she knows how all of that
works, I'm sure, because her mom and

422
00:20:51,675 --> 00:20:55,065
dad sat her down and talked about the
birds and the bees and, and yes, she's

423
00:20:55,065 --> 00:20:56,805
planning to become a mom, but not yet.

424
00:20:57,825 --> 00:21:03,225
And here's this angel that says you're
going to conceive in your womb and bear a

425
00:21:03,225 --> 00:21:05,385
son, and you're gonna call his name Jesus.

426
00:21:05,385 --> 00:21:07,365
A name that meant the Lord saves.

427
00:21:08,370 --> 00:21:12,360
At this point in time, the shock
is there and, and yet the shock

428
00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:15,690
is, is more about the conception
of a child when she's a virgin.

429
00:21:16,170 --> 00:21:20,520
'cause the, the name Jesus that we
know as, as so unique was, was not

430
00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:22,320
all that uncommon at the, the day.

431
00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:24,390
It's the, the New Testament
form of the word Joshua.

432
00:21:24,450 --> 00:21:26,910
The name Joshua means the Lord saves.

433
00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,810
So, so far there's a lot to
be puzzled by and troubled by.

434
00:21:30,810 --> 00:21:34,290
But, but yet not the, the
shocking blow is about to come.

435
00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:34,920
Okay.

436
00:21:35,010 --> 00:21:36,240
And, and that's when he goes on.

437
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:41,070
He will be called great or he will be
great and called the son of the most high.

438
00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:41,580
Okay?

439
00:21:41,580 --> 00:21:46,170
Now the emergency breaks are firing in
Mary's mind all of a sudden, because

440
00:21:46,170 --> 00:21:51,510
this idea that he's going to be the son
of the most high, the, the title most

441
00:21:51,510 --> 00:21:53,310
high was a, a title reserved for God.

442
00:21:53,910 --> 00:21:57,210
Was re reserved for Yahweh in
the Israelite understanding.

443
00:21:57,330 --> 00:22:00,810
And so now this Jewish teenage girl
is hearing that she's going to have

444
00:22:00,810 --> 00:22:02,640
a baby that's troubling enough.

445
00:22:02,745 --> 00:22:05,580
And, and, and now that this
baby is going to be the son of

446
00:22:05,580 --> 00:22:07,140
God, the son of the most high.

447
00:22:11,070 --> 00:22:12,210
And then he goes on and he says this.

448
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,390
And the Lord will give to him the,
the throne of his father David,

449
00:22:15,660 --> 00:22:18,240
and he will reign over the house of
Jacob forever and of his kingdom.

450
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:19,170
There will be no end.

451
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:20,250
Okay.

452
00:22:20,250 --> 00:22:20,610
So.

453
00:22:21,014 --> 00:22:24,315
Mary's wrestling and wrapping her mind
around the hypostatic union, all of

454
00:22:24,315 --> 00:22:29,085
a sudden that there's gonna be true
humanity, true deity, and, and, and she's

455
00:22:29,085 --> 00:22:32,895
gonna carry this child that's gonna be
somehow the son of God, but also her son.

456
00:22:33,315 --> 00:22:36,075
Uh, and, and not Joseph's,
at least not biologically.

457
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:40,155
And, and now the angel is, is just
dropping all kind of messianic theology.

458
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,500
He says he's gonna give to
him the throne of his father.

459
00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:43,950
David.

460
00:22:43,950 --> 00:22:46,980
This is looking back to the promise made
to David during the Davidic Covenant

461
00:22:46,980 --> 00:22:50,520
in two Samuel chapter seven, that David
would one day have a child that would

462
00:22:50,730 --> 00:22:54,270
sit on his throne and reign forever
and ever, and that's where he goes on.

463
00:22:54,270 --> 00:22:57,090
He will reign over the house of
Jacob that is the house of Israel

464
00:22:57,090 --> 00:22:58,950
forever and of his kingdom.

465
00:22:58,950 --> 00:23:00,150
There will be no end.

466
00:23:00,230 --> 00:23:00,320
Right.

467
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,500
This goes back even to Isaiah
chapter nine, like we looked at a

468
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:06,860
couple weeks ago that he was gonna
reign forever and ever, that he was

469
00:23:06,860 --> 00:23:08,510
gonna be the eternal father, right?

470
00:23:08,510 --> 00:23:12,170
He's the, the everlasting one
that he's gonna have this kingdom.

471
00:23:12,170 --> 00:23:15,470
This goes back to even Daniel
chapter two and Daniel chapter two.

472
00:23:15,470 --> 00:23:18,380
You've got Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
and Nebuchadnezzar's Dream was this

473
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,570
statue with these four empires.

474
00:23:21,290 --> 00:23:24,740
And then after that he,
he saw a Fifth Kingdom.

475
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,790
And the fifth Kingdom, remember, was a
stone that was cut from a mountain and

476
00:23:29,790 --> 00:23:34,080
the stone came in and destroyed this
statue of these four earthly kingdoms.

477
00:23:34,140 --> 00:23:38,070
And that fifth kingdom, that stone
was established forever and ever,

478
00:23:38,070 --> 00:23:40,170
and its end would never come.

479
00:23:40,650 --> 00:23:44,100
And, and now Mary is hearing the
angel announcing all of these

480
00:23:44,105 --> 00:23:46,770
things, the fulfillment of the
Davidic covenant, the fulfillment

481
00:23:46,770 --> 00:23:49,020
of Isaiah nine, Daniel chapter two.

482
00:23:49,140 --> 00:23:53,340
All of this messianic theology
is just being unloaded on this.

483
00:23:54,020 --> 00:23:56,300
Young teenage Israelite woman.

484
00:23:57,890 --> 00:24:01,160
We're gonna see here in just a moment
through Mary's response, which is the

485
00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:03,620
Magnifico of Mary, beginning in verse 46.

486
00:24:04,010 --> 00:24:11,690
Mary knew her scriptures very well, and
so even as the angel is unloading all of

487
00:24:11,690 --> 00:24:18,170
this to her, as overwhelming as it was
for this young girl, I don't think her

488
00:24:18,170 --> 00:24:22,310
problem was in sitting there and saying,
wait a minute, can Who was David again?

489
00:24:23,340 --> 00:24:24,540
Um, hold on a second.

490
00:24:24,540 --> 00:24:27,000
Can you explain about this
kingdom that's not gonna end?

491
00:24:28,260 --> 00:24:29,520
I don't think Mary was there.

492
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:33,240
I think Mary was understanding
everything that the angel told her,

493
00:24:33,990 --> 00:24:38,640
and that was just adding to her
feeling of how is this even possible?

494
00:24:41,910 --> 00:24:45,600
You know, what we see in Mary, I believe,
and, and I'm gonna get there in, in

495
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,900
verse 46 through 56 in just a minute
with us, but I think we see a young

496
00:24:48,900 --> 00:24:52,080
woman who knew her scripture, who knew
her Bible, who knew the word of God.

497
00:24:52,665 --> 00:24:53,445
Thoroughly.

498
00:24:55,035 --> 00:24:58,695
And so another way that we should be
like Mary this Christmas is by being

499
00:24:58,695 --> 00:25:01,335
like Mary in our understanding and
knowledge of the word of God too.

500
00:25:01,995 --> 00:25:03,405
Second point together is this.

501
00:25:03,435 --> 00:25:05,445
Know your Bible thoroughly, like Mary.

502
00:25:06,345 --> 00:25:07,725
Know your Bible thoroughly.

503
00:25:07,725 --> 00:25:08,415
Like Mary.

504
00:25:09,945 --> 00:25:12,945
You may be looking back at our
passage and going, okay, but Pastor

505
00:25:12,945 --> 00:25:15,675
pj, where does it say that Mary
understood all of these things?

506
00:25:15,675 --> 00:25:18,915
It doesn't in the text, it just is
the angel announcing these things.

507
00:25:19,815 --> 00:25:21,495
Where does it say that
Mary was tracking with him?

508
00:25:22,905 --> 00:25:26,025
Well, that's where I want us
to go to verse 46, if you will.

509
00:25:26,055 --> 00:25:28,635
So in Luke chapter one,
you're already there.

510
00:25:28,635 --> 00:25:30,855
Just look down the page at verse 46.

511
00:25:31,455 --> 00:25:34,755
This is Mary's response after
her interaction with Elizabeth.

512
00:25:34,755 --> 00:25:36,195
Again, we've read it during our, our.

513
00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:37,360
Scripture reading together.

514
00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:42,760
But it says this, uh, Mary said, my soul
magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices

515
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:47,020
in God, my savior, for he has looked
upon the humble estate of his servant.

516
00:25:47,230 --> 00:25:52,030
For behold, from now on, all generations
will call me blessed, for he who is

517
00:25:52,030 --> 00:25:53,860
mighty, has done great things for me.

518
00:25:53,860 --> 00:25:55,330
And holy is his name.

519
00:25:55,420 --> 00:25:58,960
His mercy is for those who fear
him from generation to generation.

520
00:25:59,110 --> 00:26:00,940
He has shown strength with his arm.

521
00:26:01,150 --> 00:26:03,580
He has scattered the proud and
the thoughts of their hearts.

522
00:26:03,730 --> 00:26:06,640
He has brought down the mighty
from their thrones and exalted

523
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:07,750
those of humble estate.

524
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:11,410
He has filled the hungry with good things
and the rich he has sent away empty.

525
00:26:11,470 --> 00:26:15,010
He has helped his servant Israel
in remembrance of his mercy as he

526
00:26:15,010 --> 00:26:18,820
spoke to our fathers to Abraham
and to his offspring forever.

527
00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,180
And Mary remained with her about
three months and returned to her home.

528
00:26:22,890 --> 00:26:26,820
I want you to think about these statements
that Mary makes in this magnifica here

529
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:32,010
and, and there are so many Old Testament
allusions to what she is saying here, as

530
00:26:32,010 --> 00:26:36,810
Mary is praising God in response to the
news that she's gonna give birth to the

531
00:26:36,810 --> 00:26:41,430
Christ child, and then seeing Elizabeth
and Elizabeth's pregnancy as well,

532
00:26:41,820 --> 00:26:47,130
she's making these statements that have
running behind them, all sorts of Old

533
00:26:47,130 --> 00:26:49,410
Testament illusions and connections here.

534
00:26:50,550 --> 00:26:53,490
This is just a part of it that
you see here up on the screen.

535
00:26:53,670 --> 00:26:56,970
There's more as we go through
it, as well as it continues to

536
00:26:56,970 --> 00:26:58,800
unpack statement after statement.

537
00:26:59,010 --> 00:27:02,160
But I want you to look at the last
one in remembrance of his mercy

538
00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:06,720
as he spoke to our fathers, to
Abraham and his offspring forever.

539
00:27:08,790 --> 00:27:12,240
When the angel was talking to Mary,
when Gabriel was talking to Mary and

540
00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,310
he said, you know what, he's gonna sit
on the throne of his father, David,

541
00:27:14,490 --> 00:27:16,800
and he's gonna reign over the house
of Jacob forever and of his kingdom.

542
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:17,970
There's gonna be no end.

543
00:27:19,020 --> 00:27:22,230
You know what the angel didn't
mention, he didn't mention anything

544
00:27:22,230 --> 00:27:23,190
about the Abraham of Covenant.

545
00:27:24,270 --> 00:27:27,270
He didn't mention anything about
the promises made to Abraham.

546
00:27:28,350 --> 00:27:32,970
And so exhibit A as far as our
evidence of how we know that Mary

547
00:27:32,970 --> 00:27:37,560
was a woman who knew her scriptures
thoroughly and deeply, 'cause she's

548
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:40,890
understanding what's happening here
as a fulfillment of Genesis 12 three.

549
00:27:41,850 --> 00:27:44,790
The Apostle Paul says in Galatians
that Genesis 12, three was the

550
00:27:44,790 --> 00:27:46,110
gospel preached to Abraham.

551
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:49,560
Genesis 12 three says this,
I will bless those who bless

552
00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:51,150
you and him who dishonors you.

553
00:27:51,150 --> 00:27:51,900
I will curse.

554
00:27:52,170 --> 00:27:57,600
And in you all the families
of the earth shall be blessed.

555
00:27:58,140 --> 00:28:01,950
Mary's words in remembrance of his
mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to

556
00:28:01,950 --> 00:28:04,680
Abraham and his offspring forever.

557
00:28:05,880 --> 00:28:07,830
Mary knew the Bible.

558
00:28:08,370 --> 00:28:09,630
She knew her.

559
00:28:09,630 --> 00:28:12,180
Scriptures Do we know our scriptures?

560
00:28:12,180 --> 00:28:13,770
Like Mary knows, knew her?

561
00:28:13,770 --> 00:28:14,370
Scriptures.

562
00:28:15,389 --> 00:28:20,639
We have such an advantage over her too in
that we're holding the Bible in our hands.

563
00:28:23,580 --> 00:28:28,830
Charles Spurgeon had a great respect
for and esteem for John Bunion.

564
00:28:29,910 --> 00:28:32,100
And Charles Spurgeon said
this about John Bunion.

565
00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:37,440
At one point he said, I would quote John
Bunion as an instance of what I mean, read

566
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:42,960
anything of his, and you will see that it
is almost like reading the Bible itself.

567
00:28:43,290 --> 00:28:47,340
He had read it till his very soul
was saturated with scripture.

568
00:28:48,270 --> 00:28:51,960
And though his writings are charming
and full of poetry, yet he cannot

569
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,490
give us his pilgrim's progress.

570
00:28:53,490 --> 00:28:58,230
That sweetest of all prose poems
without continual, continually making

571
00:28:58,230 --> 00:29:04,320
us feel and say, why this man is
a living Bible prick him anywhere.

572
00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:06,960
In his blood is biline.

573
00:29:07,230 --> 00:29:10,020
The very essence of the
Bible flows from him.

574
00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,600
He cannot speak without quoting a text.

575
00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:15,240
For his very soul is
full of the word of God.

576
00:29:15,570 --> 00:29:18,690
I commend his example to you, beloved.

577
00:29:20,370 --> 00:29:25,275
That's amazing that we, we should
long to have people tell us that,

578
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,090
that that's how they view us.

579
00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,440
We just long to have somebody say to us,
man, I feel like every time I talk to

580
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:32,275
you, you're pointing me to scripture.

581
00:29:33,405 --> 00:29:35,685
I feel like every time I listen to
you, I'm hearing the word of God

582
00:29:35,685 --> 00:29:38,655
from your mouth that we would bleed.

583
00:29:38,745 --> 00:29:39,375
Biline

584
00:29:41,925 --> 00:29:45,945
Mary knew her God because she knew the
scriptures, and so is the angel saying

585
00:29:45,945 --> 00:29:49,605
he's gonna be the, the the one that's
gonna sit on the throne of his father,

586
00:29:49,605 --> 00:29:53,355
David, and he's gonna reign over the
house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom.

587
00:29:53,355 --> 00:29:56,715
There will be no end, I don't
think Mary was trying to play

588
00:29:56,715 --> 00:29:58,305
catch up with these things.

589
00:29:59,535 --> 00:30:00,585
I think Mary knew.

590
00:30:01,410 --> 00:30:02,520
All about this.

591
00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,490
I think what Mary's trying to do
is understand how could it be me?

592
00:30:06,210 --> 00:30:09,480
How can I be the one to be the, the one
that's gonna carry the Christ child?

593
00:30:11,850 --> 00:30:13,710
Part of her readiness, again, was
her knowledge of the scripture.

594
00:30:13,710 --> 00:30:16,320
And maybe you're wondering, well, how
did Mary know all of these things?

595
00:30:16,980 --> 00:30:19,440
She didn't have the scrolls at
home, she didn't have the Bible,

596
00:30:20,940 --> 00:30:22,260
so how did she know these things?

597
00:30:23,625 --> 00:30:26,535
Well, young Israelite women were
not permitted to go through what

598
00:30:26,535 --> 00:30:29,745
was known as the Sabbath school,
but or the synagogue school.

599
00:30:29,745 --> 00:30:33,135
But they could go and
attend synagogue lectures.

600
00:30:33,135 --> 00:30:34,575
They could listen to the teachings.

601
00:30:34,575 --> 00:30:38,145
They could be there to hear the,
the rabbis teach the scriptures.

602
00:30:38,145 --> 00:30:41,805
And so clearly Mary had been doing that
and doing that with some regularity.

603
00:30:42,675 --> 00:30:45,585
But beyond that, I think we need to
understand that, that Mary probably

604
00:30:45,585 --> 00:30:49,575
had a very godly mom and dad at
home who taught her these things

605
00:30:49,575 --> 00:30:50,655
from the time that she was little.

606
00:30:51,105 --> 00:30:53,775
Who put the word of God in front of
her from the time that she was little

607
00:30:53,775 --> 00:30:55,365
and reminded her of these things.

608
00:30:56,715 --> 00:30:59,145
But we know later on that
that Mary was, was thoughtful.

609
00:30:59,265 --> 00:31:00,255
She was contemplative.

610
00:31:00,915 --> 00:31:04,605
In Luke chapter two, verse 19, it
says, Mary treasured up all these

611
00:31:04,605 --> 00:31:06,705
things, pondering them in her hearts.

612
00:31:08,250 --> 00:31:11,730
Later on in Luke chapter two, verse 51,
it says, he went down with them and came

613
00:31:11,730 --> 00:31:13,710
up to Nazareth and was submissive to them.

614
00:31:13,710 --> 00:31:15,570
This is after they had lost Jesus.

615
00:31:15,570 --> 00:31:16,680
Oh no, we lost Jesus.

616
00:31:16,950 --> 00:31:18,030
I was in my father's house.

617
00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:21,600
And then it says, and his mother treasured
up all these things in her heart.

618
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,110
Seems that Mary was a
contemplative individual.

619
00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:29,190
She was thoughtful, she was
intentional to read the things and

620
00:31:29,190 --> 00:31:31,050
and to treasure them in her heart.

621
00:31:31,620 --> 00:31:34,230
But again, y'all just like in
point number one, we have such a

622
00:31:34,230 --> 00:31:35,670
great advantage over Mary today.

623
00:31:36,825 --> 00:31:39,795
Can you imagine if Mary showed up
today and you handed her one of these

624
00:31:39,795 --> 00:31:44,055
and she could get past the fact that
this thing exists, and then you showed

625
00:31:44,055 --> 00:31:48,945
her that little tiny square icon on
your screen that says you version,

626
00:31:49,635 --> 00:31:51,405
and you said, Mary, tap that button.

627
00:31:52,905 --> 00:31:57,045
And imagine the shock when she taps that
button in the full corpus of God's word is

628
00:31:57,045 --> 00:31:58,335
opened up on that screen in front of her.

629
00:32:00,195 --> 00:32:01,035
Can you imagine?

630
00:32:01,980 --> 00:32:06,570
How much she would be in awe of the access
to God's word that you and I enjoy today.

631
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:11,250
Can you imagine how much she would
just think you are the most privileged

632
00:32:11,310 --> 00:32:12,870
people on the face of the planet?

633
00:32:14,580 --> 00:32:14,820
Yeah.

634
00:32:14,820 --> 00:32:16,170
I was able to carry the word of God.

635
00:32:16,170 --> 00:32:18,480
You have the word of God in
your pocket on your phone.

636
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,460
You have the word of God
in your hands in the Bible.

637
00:32:23,159 --> 00:32:24,000
What are we doing with it?

638
00:32:26,430 --> 00:32:27,360
What are we doing with it?

639
00:32:31,350 --> 00:32:33,900
It's, it's, it's, we have an
embarrassment of riches when

640
00:32:33,900 --> 00:32:35,040
it comes to God's word, y'all.

641
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:39,660
The, the, the, the commentaries,
the books, the, the 2000 years of

642
00:32:39,930 --> 00:32:43,110
spiritual giants whose shoulders
we stand upon as the church today.

643
00:32:43,380 --> 00:32:45,180
And understanding the
things of God's word.

644
00:32:46,230 --> 00:32:49,230
Being able to listen to a sermon at,
at the touch of a button on a phone.

645
00:32:49,230 --> 00:32:52,890
Being able to read the Bible at
any time that we want to, and

646
00:32:52,890 --> 00:32:55,230
yet so often we don't want to,

647
00:32:57,570 --> 00:32:58,380
we're bored by it.

648
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:01,740
Ah, it's there.

649
00:33:02,460 --> 00:33:03,210
I, you know what?

650
00:33:03,210 --> 00:33:05,490
I'm saved by grace through faith,
and, and when I get to heaven, then

651
00:33:05,490 --> 00:33:07,020
I'll care about spiritual things.

652
00:33:08,010 --> 00:33:09,930
Will we, will you,

653
00:33:12,870 --> 00:33:13,080
man?

654
00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:15,450
Two thoughts emerge as I think
about Mary's example here.

655
00:33:15,450 --> 00:33:18,360
Number one, are you as hungry
for God's word as she was?

656
00:33:19,055 --> 00:33:21,540
I mean, you have it.

657
00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:22,770
You've got it.

658
00:33:23,445 --> 00:33:25,965
She had to go to the synagogue,
and even then she was limited

659
00:33:25,965 --> 00:33:29,145
based on the fact that she was a, a
young Jewish girl from her access.

660
00:33:29,145 --> 00:33:32,655
At that point, you have it in
your hands, you have it in,

661
00:33:32,655 --> 00:33:34,305
in, in your, on your phone.

662
00:33:34,575 --> 00:33:37,935
The entire corpus of God's written
revealed word takes up less than

663
00:33:37,935 --> 00:33:39,825
like 50 megabytes on your phone.

664
00:33:42,075 --> 00:33:47,685
That would've been unfathomable
to somebody even 50 years

665
00:33:47,685 --> 00:33:50,325
ago, let alone Mary's time.

666
00:33:51,345 --> 00:33:52,755
Are you as hungry for the word as she was?

667
00:33:53,085 --> 00:33:56,085
Second, I, I wanna challenge
us as, as parents, grandparents

668
00:33:56,085 --> 00:33:57,735
in the room, aunts and uncles.

669
00:33:58,185 --> 00:34:00,465
Are you imparting the word of God
and the knowledge of the word of

670
00:34:00,465 --> 00:34:01,575
God to those that are younger?

671
00:34:01,575 --> 00:34:03,465
Are you commending the next generation?

672
00:34:03,465 --> 00:34:07,425
Are you telling them so that they will
grow up knowing the promises of God?

673
00:34:07,425 --> 00:34:08,804
Knowing the word of God as well?

674
00:34:10,904 --> 00:34:12,254
You've heard us talk
about it a couple times.

675
00:34:12,254 --> 00:34:13,904
You heard it during
announcements again this morning.

676
00:34:14,475 --> 00:34:17,324
The DBR is a great way for you to
jump in and get started and, and

677
00:34:17,324 --> 00:34:18,759
start taking in more of God's word.

678
00:34:19,799 --> 00:34:23,370
So I wanna challenge you and, and ask you,
commit to that with us this next year.

679
00:34:24,029 --> 00:34:25,080
Be a part of it with us.

680
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:27,120
Go through the whole thing
with with us next year.

681
00:34:28,139 --> 00:34:34,560
And, and if you miss a day, get back on
the horse tomorrow, jump back in, get back

682
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:35,969
into the word of God, and, and keep going.

683
00:34:35,969 --> 00:34:38,639
It is the greatest investment
you will make in 2026, is to

684
00:34:38,639 --> 00:34:39,958
know your Bible more thoroughly.

685
00:34:40,529 --> 00:34:42,359
And here's just a few
thoughts as as to why.

686
00:34:42,359 --> 00:34:44,879
Number one, you'll be more ready for
God to use you, because you will know

687
00:34:44,879 --> 00:34:46,034
his word better than you did this year.

688
00:34:48,165 --> 00:34:52,665
Number two, you're, you're gonna be better
attuned to the the leading of the spirit.

689
00:34:52,665 --> 00:34:56,895
As you start to think more biblically,
you'll be able to make wiser

690
00:34:56,895 --> 00:34:59,955
choices, in other words, number
three, you're gonna be better armed

691
00:34:59,955 --> 00:35:01,095
against the attacks of the enemy.

692
00:35:02,294 --> 00:35:05,415
The more you ingest God's word and
the more you take up the sword of the

693
00:35:05,415 --> 00:35:09,225
spirit, you will be better able to defend
yourself against the attacks of the enemy.

694
00:35:10,454 --> 00:35:12,374
And then finally, number four,
you're gonna be a better husband.

695
00:35:12,374 --> 00:35:13,334
You're gonna be a better wife.

696
00:35:13,365 --> 00:35:14,444
You're gonna be a better son.

697
00:35:14,444 --> 00:35:17,384
You're gonna be a better daughter, a
better friend, a better coworker, a

698
00:35:17,384 --> 00:35:22,934
better boss, because the fruit of the
spirit is gonna begin to grow in the

699
00:35:22,934 --> 00:35:25,424
fertile soil of a word filled heart.

700
00:35:26,954 --> 00:35:28,334
Get into the God's word next year.

701
00:35:28,904 --> 00:35:31,454
It is the most important
investment you can make in 2026.

702
00:35:31,754 --> 00:35:34,814
Know your word like Mary knew hers.

703
00:35:39,299 --> 00:35:40,170
The angel continues.

704
00:35:40,350 --> 00:35:43,319
Well, Mary, uh uh, rather Mary
interrupts the angel and says,

705
00:35:43,319 --> 00:35:44,491
how can this be verse 34.

706
00:35:45,779 --> 00:35:47,610
How will this be since I am a virgin?

707
00:35:47,970 --> 00:35:52,650
It's a legitimate question Mary, and
the angel answered her, the Holy Spirit

708
00:35:52,650 --> 00:35:55,200
will come upon you, and the power of
the most high will overshadow you.

709
00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:58,830
Therefore, the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.

710
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:02,460
And behold, your relative, Elizabeth,
in her old age has also conceived

711
00:36:02,460 --> 00:36:05,940
a son, and this is the sixth month
with her who was called barren.

712
00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:08,190
For nothing will be impossible with God.

713
00:36:08,580 --> 00:36:11,340
And Mary said, behold, I
am the servant of the Lord.

714
00:36:11,580 --> 00:36:14,100
Let it be done to me
according to your word.

715
00:36:14,475 --> 00:36:16,065
And the angel departed from her.

716
00:36:17,325 --> 00:36:18,375
Mary, I think, gets out.

717
00:36:18,375 --> 00:36:21,375
The only question she knows how to get
out at this point, which is just the tip

718
00:36:21,375 --> 00:36:24,645
of the iceberg of what I'm sure were a
thousand other questions that she had.

719
00:36:25,305 --> 00:36:29,685
How is this possible since
I'm a Virgin angel, Gabriel?

720
00:36:29,685 --> 00:36:31,725
I don't know if your mom and dad
ever explained to you the birds and

721
00:36:31,725 --> 00:36:34,395
the beast, but how is this possible?

722
00:36:35,415 --> 00:36:38,565
And Gabriel answers and he says,
well, Mary, the Holy Spirit is gonna

723
00:36:38,565 --> 00:36:41,475
come upon you, and the power of
the most high will overshadow you.

724
00:36:44,399 --> 00:36:47,970
A again, church, don't read
this through Christian eyes.

725
00:36:49,109 --> 00:36:52,139
Read this through the eyes of a
teenage girl in first century Israel

726
00:36:52,799 --> 00:36:55,799
who's only understanding the Holy
Spirit was not the New Testament

727
00:36:55,799 --> 00:36:58,379
understanding, but the Old Testament
understanding of the Holy Spirit.

728
00:37:01,349 --> 00:37:02,430
So what is the angel saying here?

729
00:37:02,430 --> 00:37:06,240
Well, in, in Genesis one, two, we read
this, the earth was without form and

730
00:37:06,240 --> 00:37:10,470
void, and darkness was over the face
of the deep and the spirit of God was

731
00:37:10,470 --> 00:37:11,939
hovering over the face of the waters.

732
00:37:13,439 --> 00:37:17,729
There Moses is setting up for us that
the spirit is gonna be involved in the

733
00:37:17,729 --> 00:37:21,660
act of the creation of the universe Here.

734
00:37:21,959 --> 00:37:24,629
What Gabriel is explaining to Mary
is that the spirit is going to be

735
00:37:24,629 --> 00:37:28,499
involved in the act of the creation
of the physical body, of the Lord,

736
00:37:28,499 --> 00:37:29,759
of the creation of the universe.

737
00:37:31,019 --> 00:37:33,839
That the, the spirit
of God is going to rot.

738
00:37:33,899 --> 00:37:37,019
That is work that is form knit together.

739
00:37:37,019 --> 00:37:41,075
As David says in Psalm 1 39, the
body of our savior in Mary's womb.

740
00:37:43,259 --> 00:37:48,419
And so this is how Jesus could come and
to be born in true humanity and yet not

741
00:37:48,419 --> 00:37:53,579
possess the sin nature of true humanity
because the sin nature is conveyed

742
00:37:53,579 --> 00:37:56,560
through sinful man and sinful woman
coming together to create sinful children.

743
00:37:58,365 --> 00:38:02,835
But because the Holy Spirit was going
to be the one to rot this child, to

744
00:38:02,835 --> 00:38:06,765
form this child, to create the, the
physical body of this child in Mary's

745
00:38:06,765 --> 00:38:12,134
womb, that child was not gonna be
created by the men meshing of sinful.

746
00:38:12,355 --> 00:38:14,395
Elements from a sinful
man and a sinful woman.

747
00:38:14,665 --> 00:38:15,805
Was Mary a sinful woman?

748
00:38:15,805 --> 00:38:21,115
Yes, but the, the transcendence of, of
God using the, the egg of a sinful woman

749
00:38:21,115 --> 00:38:27,265
to create a sinless body and prepare a
sinless nature in the, the human form

750
00:38:27,865 --> 00:38:31,825
for the son of God to inhabit and to
take up and to, to take to himself.

751
00:38:32,005 --> 00:38:34,705
That's what's happening here
and that's why Mary is told.

752
00:38:35,180 --> 00:38:36,560
This is what's going to happen to you.

753
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:38,240
The the Holy Spirit is
gonna come upon you.

754
00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:40,220
The, the power of the most
high is gonna overshadow you.

755
00:38:40,580 --> 00:38:43,550
And, and this is where he goes on
and says, therefore, because of

756
00:38:43,550 --> 00:38:48,080
that, the child to be born will
be called holy, the Son of God.

757
00:38:49,589 --> 00:38:52,200
And so this is the Immaculate conception.

758
00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:55,980
This is the, the process whereby
the Holy Spirit is gonna create

759
00:38:55,980 --> 00:38:57,779
knit together, the physical body.

760
00:38:57,779 --> 00:39:01,589
And I, I keep saying physical body because
I wanna be careful to, to not suggest

761
00:39:01,589 --> 00:39:03,900
that Jesus is being created at this point.

762
00:39:03,900 --> 00:39:05,310
Jesus is not being created.

763
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:07,319
Jesus is the eternal son.

764
00:39:07,770 --> 00:39:11,430
But what's happening here is his physical
body that he was gonna take onto himself,

765
00:39:11,430 --> 00:39:15,779
like we looked at last week, that that
physical body, this is being wrought,

766
00:39:15,810 --> 00:39:18,415
this is being knit together in the
womb of this young Jewish woman here.

767
00:39:19,794 --> 00:39:21,204
And this is the answer to her question.

768
00:39:21,204 --> 00:39:21,745
How can this be?

769
00:39:21,745 --> 00:39:26,334
Since I'm a virgin and this seems pretty
fantastic, how will I be able to, to

770
00:39:26,334 --> 00:39:27,865
really know that this is taking place?

771
00:39:28,075 --> 00:39:29,754
What, what, how is this possible?

772
00:39:29,934 --> 00:39:33,654
The angel anticipates more objections by
saying, and, and behold, you're relative.

773
00:39:33,654 --> 00:39:37,044
Elizabeth, in her old age, the
one everybody had written off

774
00:39:37,044 --> 00:39:39,204
as baron, Hey, guess what, Mary?

775
00:39:39,535 --> 00:39:42,055
She has also conceived a son,
and this is the sixth month

776
00:39:42,055 --> 00:39:43,225
with her who was called Baron.

777
00:39:43,225 --> 00:39:44,735
For nothing will be impossible with God.

778
00:39:46,154 --> 00:39:49,154
Mary wouldn't have known that
because there was no Instagram,

779
00:39:49,154 --> 00:39:50,264
there was no text messaging.

780
00:39:50,264 --> 00:39:51,134
There was no iPhone.

781
00:39:51,134 --> 00:39:52,184
There was no Facebook post.

782
00:39:52,484 --> 00:39:56,264
Elizabeth wasn't posting her, her
sonogram pictures for Mary to be

783
00:39:56,264 --> 00:39:57,404
like, that's so exciting, Elizabeth.

784
00:39:57,404 --> 00:39:58,244
I'm so happy for you.

785
00:39:58,754 --> 00:39:59,294
Prayer hands.

786
00:40:03,224 --> 00:40:07,095
And so the angel tells her this in order
to validate the the promise and and

787
00:40:07,095 --> 00:40:08,325
things that he's talking to her about.

788
00:40:09,164 --> 00:40:12,194
Mary, just even look at what's
going on already with Elizabeth.

789
00:40:12,794 --> 00:40:14,084
Nothing's impossible with God.

790
00:40:14,234 --> 00:40:16,575
And, and Mary in one of the most
faith-filled statements that

791
00:40:16,575 --> 00:40:19,455
you'll find says this, behold,
I'm the servant of the Lord.

792
00:40:19,455 --> 00:40:22,305
Let it be to me, according to
your word, let it be to me.

793
00:40:22,305 --> 00:40:26,805
According to your word, Mary's
posture is one of humility

794
00:40:27,279 --> 00:40:29,265
and, and submission and trust.

795
00:40:30,644 --> 00:40:33,345
And, and, and I wanna say this,
there's a difference between.

796
00:40:34,395 --> 00:40:35,384
Mary and Zechariah.

797
00:40:36,165 --> 00:40:39,495
Zechariah was told by the angel, Hey,
uh, Zechariah, your wife is gonna get

798
00:40:39,495 --> 00:40:42,495
pregnant and have a son, and you're gonna
name his name John, John the Baptist.

799
00:40:43,365 --> 00:40:44,535
That wasn't actually what he named him.

800
00:40:44,535 --> 00:40:50,115
But anyways, John and, and Zacharia
says, how is that possible?

801
00:40:51,045 --> 00:40:54,134
And the angel says, you're
gonna be mute and not able to

802
00:40:54,134 --> 00:40:55,515
talk until this takes place.

803
00:40:55,995 --> 00:40:59,025
Did you notice, Mary asks the
question, too, how is this gonna be?

804
00:41:00,075 --> 00:41:02,265
And she's not disciplined
for that question.

805
00:41:02,775 --> 00:41:04,035
The same way that Zacharia was.

806
00:41:05,444 --> 00:41:10,125
And the reason is I, I think what's being
conveyed in the two questions, Zechariah

807
00:41:10,125 --> 00:41:14,235
was conveying doubt and unbelief.

808
00:41:15,255 --> 00:41:19,424
I think Mary is conveying a heart of
wonder and awe over everything that

809
00:41:19,424 --> 00:41:21,975
she was being told out of humility.

810
00:41:21,975 --> 00:41:23,444
How is this even possible?

811
00:41:24,345 --> 00:41:25,185
How can this be?

812
00:41:25,965 --> 00:41:26,595
How can this be?

813
00:41:26,595 --> 00:41:29,235
And it's that wonder, and it's
that awe that I hope that we will

814
00:41:29,685 --> 00:41:33,674
again, seek to be like Mary this
Christmas and try to cultivate a

815
00:41:33,674 --> 00:41:35,025
little bit more of that ourselves.

816
00:41:35,355 --> 00:41:41,145
Final point this morning is this Marvel at
the Wonder of Christmas, like Mary Marvel

817
00:41:41,145 --> 00:41:43,095
at the Wonder of Christmas, like Mary.

818
00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:53,340
There's a competition on a, b, C
called the Great Christmas Light Fight.

819
00:41:54,210 --> 00:41:58,259
And there's a house actually over here
in Plano, in in Deerfield, Deerfield's.

820
00:41:58,290 --> 00:41:59,610
A neighborhood has been around forever.

821
00:41:59,610 --> 00:42:01,710
I used to drive through that with
my parents when I was growing up,

822
00:42:02,190 --> 00:42:04,980
uh, back in the, the early nineties,
and they were always known for

823
00:42:04,980 --> 00:42:06,000
their Christmas light displays.

824
00:42:06,690 --> 00:42:08,850
But there's one house and
it's this one right here.

825
00:42:11,129 --> 00:42:11,609
Thank you.

826
00:42:11,729 --> 00:42:16,350
Thank you for responding that way,
y'all, because here comes the dagger.

827
00:42:18,930 --> 00:42:22,470
Sometimes I feel like we're more in awe
over this than we are over the fact that

828
00:42:22,470 --> 00:42:24,600
Jesus Christ came as God in the flesh.

829
00:42:26,100 --> 00:42:30,060
That our wonder, in our awe this
Christmas season is when we look

830
00:42:30,060 --> 00:42:34,259
at the things, when we look at the
presence under the tree, when we look

831
00:42:34,259 --> 00:42:39,390
at the light displays, that that's
the stuff that causes us to go, wow.

832
00:42:41,865 --> 00:42:46,515
Instead of thinking to ourselves,
God took on flesh, was born to this

833
00:42:46,515 --> 00:42:49,515
virgin so that we could be saved

834
00:42:51,525 --> 00:42:52,335
when we're young.

835
00:42:52,335 --> 00:42:55,395
We have this, this magic, by the way,
I'm in awe of that too, by the way.

836
00:42:55,395 --> 00:42:57,975
So I, I don't mean to call y'all
out if you're like, okay pastor,

837
00:42:57,975 --> 00:42:58,935
you're stepping on my toes.

838
00:42:58,935 --> 00:43:01,545
I made an, that's the last time I react
to anything that you put up on the screen.

839
00:43:03,525 --> 00:43:03,944
I get it.

840
00:43:04,005 --> 00:43:08,384
It's really cool and probably
really expensive, um, to do.

841
00:43:10,799 --> 00:43:13,499
When we're young, we've got
this, this magic that is

842
00:43:13,499 --> 00:43:14,669
associated with Christmas, right?

843
00:43:14,850 --> 00:43:17,939
You can't wait to get up Christmas
morning, go rush, run outside.

844
00:43:17,939 --> 00:43:21,330
I remember going outside and seeing
my GI Joe tank thing that I blew

845
00:43:21,330 --> 00:43:24,120
up, the helicopter that had the,
the medics in that my mom gave me.

846
00:43:24,120 --> 00:43:25,859
'cause I was like, GI
Joe's better than doctors.

847
00:43:26,249 --> 00:43:29,819
Um, or the, the Ninja Turtles
pizza shooter thing that I had

848
00:43:29,819 --> 00:43:31,169
growing up that was super cool too.

849
00:43:31,979 --> 00:43:35,399
There's things that are, that I remember
and it's the magic of Christmas.

850
00:43:35,399 --> 00:43:38,640
But then at some point in time, y'all,
the magic goes away, doesn't it?

851
00:43:40,544 --> 00:43:43,004
And, and we kind of go into
every Christmas hoping we'll

852
00:43:43,004 --> 00:43:43,874
get it back a little bit.

853
00:43:45,794 --> 00:43:49,424
Can I suggest to you in, in part,
it's, it's a good thing that we're

854
00:43:49,424 --> 00:43:53,325
not as in awe of the same things
that we were when we were kids.

855
00:43:54,464 --> 00:43:57,189
Because when we were kids, we just
were, what we cared about was the stuff.

856
00:43:59,055 --> 00:44:00,794
That was what was so magical for us.

857
00:44:01,095 --> 00:44:03,345
Santa Claus came, oh,
look at this cool toy.

858
00:44:03,345 --> 00:44:03,734
Look at this.

859
00:44:03,765 --> 00:44:05,624
Oh, I don't have to go to school.

860
00:44:05,624 --> 00:44:07,305
Oh, I can drink hot
chocolate and stay up late.

861
00:44:07,305 --> 00:44:10,544
Oh, and, and all of that was
the nostalgia that we have.

862
00:44:11,415 --> 00:44:14,504
And I wanna suggest to you that,
that we should still have a feeling

863
00:44:14,504 --> 00:44:16,185
of wonder and awe about Christmas.

864
00:44:16,185 --> 00:44:19,484
It's just we need to grow out of that
wonder and awe and grow into the wonder

865
00:44:19,484 --> 00:44:24,104
and awe over the incarnation over who
this is in, in the, the manger there.

866
00:44:25,185 --> 00:44:28,845
And specifically over the fact
that this is God in the flesh.

867
00:44:29,685 --> 00:44:32,924
I mean, just think about some
of the thoughts to, to marvel

868
00:44:32,924 --> 00:44:33,915
at this Christmas like this.

869
00:44:34,185 --> 00:44:35,535
What was Jesus?

870
00:44:35,595 --> 00:44:40,245
The, the son of God doing as his
physical body was, was forming in

871
00:44:40,245 --> 00:44:41,805
the womb of Mary for nine months.

872
00:44:43,634 --> 00:44:47,834
It's not like he went into to like
cryonic cold sleep or whatever.

873
00:44:47,834 --> 00:44:49,515
The people are doing freezing themselves.

874
00:44:49,515 --> 00:44:51,705
It's, he was still the son of God.

875
00:44:52,634 --> 00:44:53,325
Hebrews chapter one.

876
00:44:53,325 --> 00:44:56,835
He was still upholding the universe by the
word of his power as he's in Mary's womb.

877
00:44:56,835 --> 00:44:58,004
Have you ever thought about that?

878
00:45:00,254 --> 00:45:00,944
What about his?

879
00:45:00,944 --> 00:45:03,795
His omnipresence, his
omniscience, his omnipotence?

880
00:45:05,444 --> 00:45:07,214
You're gonna talk about
it in in community groups.

881
00:45:07,214 --> 00:45:09,734
If you're meeting this week, if not all
of us, I would encourage you to look at

882
00:45:09,734 --> 00:45:10,785
the questions on the back of your sheet.

883
00:45:11,205 --> 00:45:14,025
Have you ever thought about what
are the attributes that Jesus could

884
00:45:14,025 --> 00:45:17,355
have willingly set aside and veiling
himself with his humanity, true

885
00:45:17,355 --> 00:45:19,305
humanity, and still be truly God?

886
00:45:21,180 --> 00:45:25,289
And, and what are the attributes that
he couldn't give up and remain truly

887
00:45:25,289 --> 00:45:26,669
God as he took on true humanity?

888
00:45:27,509 --> 00:45:30,240
Uh, ponder deep things this
Christmas about the incarnation.

889
00:45:30,479 --> 00:45:32,999
Ask yourself more questions like,
oh man, what, what does that mean

890
00:45:32,999 --> 00:45:36,240
That he was born in true humanity,
yet he didn't have a sin nature.

891
00:45:38,099 --> 00:45:39,209
Why was that necessary?

892
00:45:39,930 --> 00:45:41,459
How does that relate to my salvation?

893
00:45:42,765 --> 00:45:46,335
These are things if, if we'll begin to
plumb the depths of this baby in a manger.

894
00:45:46,575 --> 00:45:50,895
Uh, but the greatest thing for us to
be in, in, in awe of this Christmas is

895
00:45:50,895 --> 00:45:55,815
the reality that he came in, the manger
ultimately to go to the cross for us.

896
00:45:57,465 --> 00:46:03,375
That God took on flesh in
order to eventually sacrifice

897
00:46:03,375 --> 00:46:04,410
himself for you and I.

898
00:46:05,820 --> 00:46:11,070
In our place, not as an example to us,
not as this moral theory or anything

899
00:46:11,070 --> 00:46:12,570
else like that, that none of that.

900
00:46:12,930 --> 00:46:15,180
He is our substitute.

901
00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:20,730
That's why he took flesh to himself,
identified with us as the writer of

902
00:46:20,970 --> 00:46:25,020
Hebrew says so that he might become our,
our merciful and faithful high priest.

903
00:46:25,650 --> 00:46:28,410
But to do that, he had to first go
to the cross and die on the cross

904
00:46:28,410 --> 00:46:32,940
for your sins and my sins to absorb
the wrath of God that we deserved.

905
00:46:34,875 --> 00:46:39,105
And then he rose again from the grave so
that we too might one day overcome death

906
00:46:39,105 --> 00:46:40,515
and follow in his footsteps in that.

907
00:46:41,865 --> 00:46:42,915
That's why he came.

908
00:46:43,815 --> 00:46:48,765
The Bible gives us multiple occasions
to wonder at God's love for us.

909
00:46:49,185 --> 00:46:52,095
Even just as you consider maybe the,
the, the parable, the prodigal son.

910
00:46:53,564 --> 00:46:57,285
You wonder how could a father love
that son After he had despised

911
00:46:57,285 --> 00:46:59,084
him and basically said, dad,
you're as good as dead to me.

912
00:46:59,084 --> 00:47:00,225
Let me have my inheritance.

913
00:47:00,705 --> 00:47:04,544
Then he goes and he blows it all, and then
he comes back and the father doesn't even

914
00:47:04,544 --> 00:47:08,894
let him get his his apology out before
he wraps his arm around him in love.

915
00:47:10,124 --> 00:47:12,975
God wants us to understand the
overwhelming nature of his love for

916
00:47:12,975 --> 00:47:17,384
us, and we see it no greater place than
in the idea that God took on flesh and

917
00:47:17,384 --> 00:47:19,754
came to live and die for you and me.

918
00:47:21,285 --> 00:47:24,254
Marvel at the Wonder
of Christmas like Mary.

919
00:47:25,064 --> 00:47:27,705
And again, lemme suggest we've got
an advantage over Mary at this point

920
00:47:28,274 --> 00:47:29,595
'cause we know the rest of the story.

921
00:47:30,495 --> 00:47:33,464
She's trying to wrap her mind around all
of these promises regarding the Messiah

922
00:47:33,464 --> 00:47:36,615
coming and her being the one to carry
the Messiah and, and understandably,

923
00:47:36,615 --> 00:47:40,245
and we should be in awe of that as
well, but mean we have so much more.

924
00:47:40,274 --> 00:47:45,794
How much more should we be in awe
when we know what we know about who

925
00:47:45,794 --> 00:47:47,234
that baby ultimately came to be?

926
00:47:49,934 --> 00:47:53,144
I was sitting in my house yesterday and
I was, I was thinking about this sermon

927
00:47:53,444 --> 00:47:56,444
and, uh, the, the old nineties commercial.

928
00:47:56,984 --> 00:47:59,354
Be like, Mike, I wanna be like Mike.

929
00:47:59,354 --> 00:48:02,264
You remember that one, the Gatorade
commercial that came to mind.

930
00:48:02,264 --> 00:48:04,964
So I, I opened it up on YouTube
and, and I played it and my son

931
00:48:04,964 --> 00:48:06,374
was like, dad, what is that?

932
00:48:06,944 --> 00:48:10,124
It's like Josh, this is the
pinnacle of advertising right here.

933
00:48:10,604 --> 00:48:13,664
This is the greatest advertising that
has ever come from the mind of man.

934
00:48:15,104 --> 00:48:17,234
And he was watching it with me,
and I could see his mind turning.

935
00:48:17,234 --> 00:48:19,544
He is like, so the whole point
of the commercial is if I drink

936
00:48:19,544 --> 00:48:21,014
Gatorade, I'm gonna be like, Mike.

937
00:48:21,825 --> 00:48:22,214
Yes.

938
00:48:22,214 --> 00:48:25,124
What don't you understand
about this drink?

939
00:48:25,124 --> 00:48:26,564
Gatorade slam a basketball.

940
00:48:27,464 --> 00:48:29,084
At least that's what we
all believed at that point.

941
00:48:30,254 --> 00:48:33,374
But the end of that commercial, it, it
fades the black and, and three words

942
00:48:33,374 --> 00:48:35,684
come up on the screen, be like, Mike.

943
00:48:38,190 --> 00:48:42,960
If I could end this sermon by fading it
to black with three words for us to take

944
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:48,750
away and think about this Christmas,
it would be be like, Mary, let's pray.

945
00:48:53,130 --> 00:48:57,540
Lord God, we thank you for the example
that we have in this young woman.

946
00:48:57,734 --> 00:49:00,434
A young girl, Lord.

947
00:49:00,434 --> 00:49:05,444
And the maturity that we see in her
and in her life in large part due to

948
00:49:06,194 --> 00:49:09,644
the investment that her parents had
likely made in her, in, in teaching her

949
00:49:09,644 --> 00:49:12,194
the things of your word and teaching
her these truths and teaching her the

950
00:49:12,194 --> 00:49:18,134
scriptures, that coupled with Lord,
her humility, her submissiveness

951
00:49:18,134 --> 00:49:22,184
to what you would have her do what?

952
00:49:22,184 --> 00:49:24,524
Her righteousness, her
godliness, that she was prepared.

953
00:49:24,524 --> 00:49:26,265
She was ready to be used by you.

954
00:49:27,809 --> 00:49:30,959
Lord, there's so much that we can glean
from Mary's life and think about what

955
00:49:30,959 --> 00:49:34,619
it would look like for us to be a little
bit more like Mary this Christmas season.

956
00:49:36,119 --> 00:49:38,999
Lord, we're not here to, to, to
venerate her, to worship her, to

957
00:49:38,999 --> 00:49:41,579
extol her in any way, shape or form.

958
00:49:42,959 --> 00:49:43,979
But we are here to learn.

959
00:49:44,745 --> 00:49:49,845
From maybe her example for us such that we
would see you do a little bit more through

960
00:49:49,845 --> 00:49:54,015
us this Christmas because we're ready for
you to use us this Christmas such that

961
00:49:54,015 --> 00:49:59,115
we would think about 2026 and and beyond
and say we might be even more effective

962
00:49:59,115 --> 00:50:02,680
for you because we're gonna double down
in our pursuit of your word in the future

963
00:50:04,930 --> 00:50:09,674
and such that we would spend some
extra time this Christmas contemplating

964
00:50:10,095 --> 00:50:12,464
this baby marveling being in awe.

965
00:50:13,875 --> 00:50:18,915
Or the fact that you sent Jesus,
you sent your son as that baby.

966
00:50:18,944 --> 00:50:22,935
For us ultimately to die in our
place on that cross and to rise

967
00:50:22,935 --> 00:50:26,444
from the dead so that we who gather
here, we don't gather in vain.

968
00:50:26,444 --> 00:50:31,125
Our faith is not in vain because that
savior, that baby who died, rose again.

969
00:50:32,085 --> 00:50:35,444
Now we have a confidence that we too
will one day rise to be with him.

970
00:50:35,895 --> 00:50:37,245
So we thank you so much for Christmas.

971
00:50:37,245 --> 00:50:38,294
We thank you for the season.

972
00:50:38,325 --> 00:50:40,065
We praise you for all this in Jesus name.

973
00:50:40,544 --> 00:50:40,935
Amen.