Do You See What I See?
Do You See What Gabriel Saw?
Luke 1:26-38
December 21, 2003
Intro:
A. [The Bike Before Christmas, unknown]
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through our house
Not a creature was sleeping, not even my spouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with screws.
(If you can’t find the nails, what else do you use?)
The children were restless, awake in their beds,
While visions of spanking them danced in our heads.
I worked in my bathrobe. My husband, in jeans,
Had gone down to the den with directions and dreams.
To assemble a bike that came in small pieces
With deflated tires and fenders with creases.
Soon down in the den there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from task to see what was the matter.
Away to my husband I flew like a flash;
He was shuffling through cardboard; his actions were rash.
The bike on the rug by this now-flustered dad
Soon gave me a hint as to why he was mad.
He needed a kickstand. It had to be near.
I shuffled some papers—he saw it appear!
We twisted the screws; we were lively and quick,
And we soon knew assembly would be quite a trick.
Fast as eagles in flight the pieces were found,
And he whistled and shouted for parts all around:
“Now socket! Now pedal! Now tires! Now brakes!
On handles! On kick stand! On horn!…oh…but wait!”
In the top of the toolbox, he fumbled around;
“I need two more screws!” he said with a frown.
And like all good parents determined to please
When they meet with an obstacle on Christmas Eve,
We shouted and yelled some complaints to each other.
There was never more frustrated father and mother!
And then, in a panic, we heard on the stairs
The prancing and hopping of feet…’bout two pairs!
I opened the door and was turning around,
When kids bust from the hall with a leap and a bound.
They were dressed all in flannel, from their necks to their knees,
And their nightgowns were soiled with sugar and cheese!
Excuses poured forth from each pair of lips;
They stood in defiance with hands on their hips.
Their eyes were wide open, and each little child
Jumped when I yelled with a voice hardly mild.
They were frightened but cute, though not much bigger than elves,
And we laughed when we saw them, in spite of ourselves.
A wink of the eye and a pat on the head
Soon let them both know they had nothing to dread.
They saw not a thing but went straight to their beds,
And we finished the bike and put bows on the sleds.
Then wheeling the bike by the tree (out of sight),
My hubby announced we should call it a night.
He sprang to his bed, to the clock gave a whistle,
As the time had flown by like a large titan missile.
But I heard him exclaim as he turned out the light,
“Merry Christmas, my dear, but next year NO BIKE!”
B. Today, I want to look at Luke 1:26-38 and see if we can see what Gabriel saw.
1. [Read text]
2. I see three truths about God that Gabriel revealed to Mary, the first is…
I. Gabriel Revealed God’s Favor
Luke 1:28 (NIV), The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
Luke 1:30 (NIV), But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
A. Gabriel said twice that Mary was favored by God.
1. We read last week that God looked with favor on Abel’s offering, but not on Cain’s offering.
2. Today we see that God looked with favor upon Mary.
B. Now let me quickly clarify a few things.
1. God favored Mary, but she is not the co-redemtrix.
a. There are many who are pushing the Pope to make her the Co-redeemer (feminine: redemtrix).
b. John 14:6 (NIV), Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
c. Acts 4:12 (NIV), Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
d. Jesus is our only Savior; Jesus is our only redeemer.
e. Mary is not co-redemtrix, but she was highly favored.
2. God favored Mary, but she is not the One to whom we pray.
a. Matthew 6:9 (NIV), "This, then, is how you should pray: "’Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
b. We pray to our heavenly Father, not to Mary.
c. God favored Mary, but we do not pray to her.
3. God favored Mary, but she is not our intercessor between us and God.
a. 1 Timothy 2:5 (NIV), For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
b. Hebrews 7:24-25 (NIV), but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
4. The Bible never says that Mary is anything more than a regular human being who found favor with God.
C. So are Abel and Mary the only ones who can find favor with God? No!
1. Anyone can find favor with God because God does not play favorites.
a. Acts 10:34 (NIV), Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
b. Romans 2:11 (NIV), For God does not show favoritism.
2. Nobody is God’s favorite, including Mary.
3. Mary found favor with God, but she was not His favorite.
4. Who would want a God who played favorites?
5. God favored Mary, but didn’t show favoritism to her.
6. So how can that be?
7. How can it be that God showed Mary favor, but did not play favorites?
D. Let’s go back to Acts 10:34 and continue reading verse 35…
1. Acts 10:34-35 (NIV), Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
2. You may recall from last week, this is the same thing God told Cain in Genesis 4:4-7 (NIV), But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
3. Acts 10:34-35 (NIV), Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
4. You see the reason that Mary and Abel found favor with God was because they did what was right in the sight of God.
5. God wasn’t playing favorites, but He did look with favor on Mary and Abel because they did what was right.
E. What an extraordinary truth Gabriel has revealed!
1. Gabriel saw that because of this child, Mary had found favor with God.
2. And as we see the rest of Scripture we see that because of this Child, we too can find favor with God!
3. Like Mary, we too can have this Baby living within us and we too can find favor with God!
4. Gabriel revealed God’s favor.
5. Do you see what Gabriel saw?
II. Gabriel Revealed God’s Faithfulness
Luke 1:32-33 (NIV), 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."
A. Mary knew that both she and Joseph were descendants of David, Jacob, Judah, and Abraham.
1. Mary knew God had promised her ancestor Abraham that he would be a great nation.
2. Mary knew the promises that God had made to her forefather, Judah.
3. Mary knew that God had made promises to her forefather, Jacob.
4. Mary knew the promises that God had made to her forefather, David.
B. Do you see that Gabriel was revealing that God was being faithful to His Word?!
1. Gabriel was revealing that when God makes a promise, He keeps His Word, even if it takes thousands of years.
2. Gabriel was revealing that when God makes a promise to someone, He keeps His Word, even if it is not in his or her lifetime.
3. Gabriel was revealing that when God says He’ll do something, YOU CAN BANK ON IT!
C. We usually have a very difficult time waiting on God!
1. We tend to look at things from a very short perspective.
2. We look at God in terms of minutes and hours or possibly days, weeks, or months, but certainly not in terms of thousands of years.
3. Most of us will admit that we have given up praying about some things in a very short time.
4. Most of us will admit that there are very few things that we are willing to continue praying about over the course of our very short 70 or 80 years.
5. Those 70 or 80 years may seem like an eternity to us, while God’s time may take thousands of years.
D. And many of us have trouble keeping our word for very many weeks.
1. But Gabriel revealed that God keeps His promises long after many would forget.
2. God keeps His promises even though we may have long ago given up hope.
3. Gabriel revealed that God is faithful!
E. Do you see what Gabriel saw?
1. We all need to see that God is faithful! We need to see that God keeps His Word!
2. We need to see that God keeps His promises even when it is not when we want it.
3. We need to see that God keeps His promises even when it is not during our lifetime.
4. We need to see that God keeps His promises no matter how long it takes!
5. We need to see that even when it seems impossible, God is faithful!
III. Gabriel Revealed God’s Fullness
Luke 1:37 (NIV), For nothing is impossible with God."
A. Verse 37 of our text says, “For nothing is impossible with God!”
1. Gabriel revealed that nothing is impossible with God!
2. Gabriel revealed the fullness of God!
3. This is part of the answer the angel gave in response to Mary’s question in verse 34, “How will this be since I am a virgin?”
4. The angel told Mary that God had the power to make her cousin Elizabeth to get pregnant, even though she was too old to have kids and she had so far been barren.
5. The angel was telling Mary that if God had the power to make a woman have a child who was an old woman and who had never been able to have any kids, then he could surely cause Mary to have a child.
6. If this old woman named Elizabeth could have kids, God surely has the power to cause Mary to have a child even though she was a virgin.
B. And the angel certainly could have said many other things as well…
1. If God had the power to create the universe by simply speaking it into being, He can surely create a child in a virgin!
2. If God had the power to create Adam from the dust of the earth with no father OR mother whatsoever, then He could surely create a child from just a woman!
3. If God had the power to part the sea so the Israelites could cross on dry land, then He can surely create a child in a virgin!
4. If God had the power to use a small shepherd boy to kill a nine-foot-tall giant, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
5. If God had the power to cause a great rain to flood the entire earth, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
6. If God had the power to start a fire on a heavily water-soaked pile of wood, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
7. If God had the power to cause the sun to go backwards, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
8. If God had the power to raise His Son from the dead, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
9. If God had the power to make the lame to walk, He could surely create a child in virgin!
10. If God had the power to cause the blind to see, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
11. If God had the power to cause the dumb to speak, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
12. If God had the power to raise the dead, He could surely create a child in a virgin!
13. Yes, the angel could have said a lot more!
14. Certainly, the angel was correct in saying, “nothing is impossible with God.”
a. In Luke 18:27 Jesus said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
b. Think about it: if that statement weren’t true, then He wouldn’t be God.
c. If God couldn’t do things that are impossible to men, then He wouldn’t be God.
d. In fact, Ephesians 3:20 says that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”
1) God can do even more than we could possibly think or imagine.
2) God can do more than you can imagine.
3) So, if you can imagine it, God can do it.
4) God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.”
5) God can do more than you can ask!
6) And that verse also says that power is at work within us!
7) Gabriel revealed the truth of that verse!
8) Gabriel revealed that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all [she] could ask or imagine, according to His power that [was] at work within [her].”
C. And you can have that same power at work within you!
1. Is that verse true or not?!
2. It is either true in your life and mine or else it is not true at all!
3. Have you discovered God’s power to do the impossible in your life?
4. Have you seen God do the impossible?
5. If you haven’t, then you need to begin to ask Him to do something that is humanly impossible in your life.
6. Ask God to do something that no human being could do, and watch His power work in your life!
7. This power of God was certainly not reserved for Mary only.
8. You can discover God’s fullness in your life.
9. You can discover God’s ability to do the impossible in your life.
10. Christ in Mary was possible to God.
11. And Christ in us is possible to God.
12. What is impossible to men was possible to God in Mary.
13. And what is impossible to men is possible to God in us!
14. Because God is either the God of the impossible or He is not God—regardless of who we are!
15. God is either the God of the impossible or He is not God in everyone because he does not play favorites.
16. God is either the God of the impossible in us or He is not God.
Conclusion:
A. Do you see what Gabriel saw?
1. Gabriel revealed God’s favor.
2. Gabriel revealed God’s faithfulness.
3. Gabriel revealed God’s fullness.
4. Do you see what Gabriel saw?
B. Have you experienced what Gabriel saw?
1. Have you experienced God’s favor?
2. Have you experienced God’s faithfulness?
3. Have you experienced God’s fullness?
C. [A. W. Tozer on God’s Power, Citation: As seen in Leadership Weekly (10-09-02)]
"Anything God has ever done, he can do now.
Anything God has ever done anywhere, he can do here.
Anything God has ever done for anyone, he can do for you." —A.W. Tozer
D. It’s Christmas—God wants to give gifts.
1. God wants to give you His Son.
2. God wants to give you other things as well.
3. What do you need from God today?
Whatever you need, God CAN do it for you today!
