The events described in Scripture regarding the birth of Christ actually happened. It begins in the home of a young girl named Mary who lived almost 2,000 years ago in the Town of Nazareth in the province of Galilee, and it culminates with the visit of the Magi and the subsequent flight into Egypt by the Holy family. There is much that we don’t know about this extraordinary event. What we do know is that at one unique instant in time, so unique that it divided every other event into "before" and "after," God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world. He came, as we all do as a newborn baby; yet His birth changed the course of history and profoundly impacted our human race.
Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God."
38 "I am the Lord’s servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
The story unfolds in the small town of Nazareth some 6,000 miles from here, where out of the blue the Angel Gabriel appeared to this young Jewish woman named Mary who was pledged to be married to a carpenter named Joseph.
He tells her she is very special, and not to be afraid. Getting right to the point, he tells her that she has found favor with God and will shortly become pregnant with God’s Son, that His name is to be "Jesus" which means, "the Lord is salvation;" and that He will be a king whose kingdom will last forever.
If you were Mary how would you respond to this news?
Mary asked Gabriel, “how this could be?” given the fact she was a virgin. You see Mary lived at a time when God had not been supernaturally active in Israel for over 500 years. They weren’t accustomed to angels showing up; things like that just didn’t happen. Understandably, Mary wanted an explanation.
Gabriel realizes that he needs to help Mary understand what is about to happen to her. So he explains that she will become pregnant through a Divine miracle when the Holy Spirit overshadows her and that the child will be the Son of God. To validate this explanation, he tells her that her relative Elizabeth is six months pregnant - you see Elizabeth was barren and well beyond childbearing age, yet through divine, supernatural intervention, she was pregnant with John the Baptist.
Then Gabriel ends the conversation with this powerful message, when he says, "For nothing is impossible with God."
A lot of things were going through Mary’s mind
- Is my engagement to Joseph in jeopardy?
- How will I explain this to my family & friends?
- Is this really happening?
She needed REASSURANCE that God was indeed acting in her behalf. Gabriel’s words "For nothing is impossible with God" touched the core of Mary’s being. She reached out in her spirit, took a leap of faith and said, "I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said." Then Gabriel left.
Like Mary, we need REASSURANCE.
We need REASSURANCE on a national level that God is working in our behalf. America has fallen into the abyss of moral decay and we need salvation. Every generation must discover anew their need for salvation. If you are anything like me, you want to see our great nation become morally strong again and rise from the ashes of social decay.
Don’t look to technology to solve our problems. Don’t look to government to solve our problems. Instead, look to God for the solution.
Abraham Lincoln said: "We have forgotten the gracious hand which has preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and have mainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own."
Our military men and women who wear the uniform are professional warriors, they train to fight and win and they understand the fundamental principals of common warfare. I’m here to remind you tonight that there is another kind of warfare being waged. It is a spiritual warfare going on in our country, in our schools and on our city streets and no amount of technology or government intervention is going to win this war.
We need God, we need salvation and we need it now! We need a spiritual revival in this nation. We need to repent of our sins, and they are many, and turn back to God, and then He will heal our land. Amen! (Pause)
Spiritual renewal must first start with you and me; therefore, we need personal REASSURANCE that God is working in our behalf. You may be here tonight with a need, God can meet that need right now, for nothing is impossible with God.
You may be here with severe health problems - God can heal you tonight, for nothing is impossible with God.
You may be in spiritual confusion and darkness. God will meet you where you are; He will end your searching and satisfy your spiritual hunger, for nothing is impossible with God.
You may be lonely, without family and have no one to share relationship with; God will fill your emptiness and begin to bring you into caring and nurturing relationships, for nothing is impossible with God.
You may be out of relationship with someone you dearly love, and you don’t hold out much hope for reconciliation. But God is able to bring healing to these relationships tonight, for nothing is impossible with God.
You may be here and your career is in trouble, you don’t know what you’re going to do or where you’re going to go. God is preparing the way for you right now. He will provide for your needs, for nothing is impossible with God.
You may be here tonight and your children, grandchildren, or someone very dear to you is in trouble. They need to find God. God is calling them to Himself even now. He is offering them salvation. Don’t lose heart, keep praying, for nothing is impossible with God.
God is for you 100%. And just like he brought salvation to mankind 2000 years ago through a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. He stands ready to bring salvation into your life tonight. If you are here and you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, invite Him into your heart, ask Him to forgive you of your sin and be the Lord of your life, and you will be born again into eternal life.
PRAYER: Father, in the Bible you tell us that "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." And we know that even this planet will someday cease to exist, but Your word, O Lord, will never fail. Move by the power of Your Holy Spirit upon the hearts and lives of Your people gathered here tonight. Bring us salvation - meet us where our need is greatest. Save us and save our country. For we know that nothing is impossible for God. In the blessed and holy Name of Jesus we pray, Amen.
