The Christmas Experience – Week Two
Experiencing God’s Favor
Luke 1:26-31 (32-38) - Victory Fellowship
December 10, 2023 – Second Sunday of Advent
Dominant Thought: There’s no better place to be than in God’s favor.
Introduction
• Mary found favor with God. We don’t know much about Mary, so we can’t be completely sure why. We can guess a little bit about what kind of a woman she was to find favor with God and bear the savior of the world—humble, patient, kind.
• But the Bible doesn’t tell us that. What the story of Mary does tell us is a little bit about what finding favor with God means:
God’s Favor is Surprising (Luke 1:26-31)
• Mary is startled by the appearance of the angel. While any of us probably would be, I think it’s significant that Mary wasn’t sitting around expecting God to reward her at any moment.
• Finding favor with God is not a magic formula that we can put together and then expect God to be pleased with us and bless us. When God finds favor with someone, it’s because they have a specific role to play in His plan, and there’s no way to predict exactly what He will do or when He will do it.
God’s Favor is Powerful (Luke 1:32-37)
32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.37 For the word of God will never fail.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
• The plan the angel unfolds to Mary will, quite literally, require a miracle. Mary reminds the angel that she is a virgin and cannot become pregnant. But the angel replies, “Nothing is impossible with God.”
• When God wants to use someone for His purposes, it will often seem impossible. But God’s power will be with us to make the impossible possible.
God’s Favor is Demanding (Luke 1:38)
• Mary’s response to this amazing unfolding of God’s plan is simply, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” This plan of God will result in Mary and Joseph being ostracized from their community, and it will require a great deal of work on her part—as a mother and, specifically, as the mother of the Messiah.
• But Mary doesn’t flee from the demands of doing God’s will. She embraces them. When God finds favor with us, it’s because He wants to use us for His purposes. That almost always comes with pretty significant demands on our time, our money, our entire lifestyle. But Mary’s response is fitting, “I am the Lord’s servant.”
Conclusion
• We often think of being in God’s favor when all is right in our world. But that’s simply not true.
• Being in God’s favor means He will supply all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.
• He will cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are CALLED according to His purposes.
• He will give us the measure of strength equal to the task.
• (Bible study in Lake Brady UMC. Karen Hartley read from Greek NT. So far from me at the time – married, Bryon a baby. If I had known all I had to go thru to enter full time ministry I might not have done it)
(Sermon Bumper clip) There’s no better place to be than in God’s favor. It is surprising, it is powerful, and it is demanding. And it’s worth it. Do not be afraid to go where God’s favor takes you.
PRAYER
SONG: Mary Did You Know?
Luke 1:26-38 NLT
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
