The Annunciation of Christ, Part 1

Let's pray together father we thank you for the greatness of your glory and the opportunity to study the story of God's descent to humanity and today Lord as we think about this week being passion week and The high and holy day of Good Friday Will you bore in your body our sins on the tree? Then gathering together next Lord's Day to celebrate your resurrection We thank Lord of all that you did for us. We praise you for that And we ask Lord that our response to you Would be more than just a thankful heart It would be an obedient heart desire to honor and follow our Lord God forever and ever In Jesus name we pray Amen Turn up in your Bible if you would to Luke chapter 1 Luke Chapter 1 and I think it's fitting that as we embark on Celebrating the death of Christ on Calvary that today we talk about the announcement of his descent to humanity Before there was ever the death on Calvary there was the descent to humanity Before there was the descent to humanity there was the depth of our depravity and Yet before the depth of our depravity there was a decision made in eternity that our Lord would be the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world and Because of his death on Calvary and his victory over sin death and Satan We have been delivered from our iniquity and because we've been delivered from our iniquity We know that he has destroyed the works of our adversary first John 5 1st John 3 verses 5 and 8 tell us about that and we know that one day we will reign with him in glory But it's all because one day our Lord Came to earth and fleshed himself in humanity and To bear your sins and mine on Calvary's tree and today we have the announcement about that the day where the angel Gabriel would come to Mary in a town called Nazareth and Explained to her what was going to take place in her life.

This becomes the greatest announcement ever Because now for the first time in over 400 years or for the second time in over 400 years an angel will speak and angels already spoken to Gabriel to Angel Gabriel has already spoken to Zacharias and now he's gonna speak to Mary and give her the great announcement about the divine Christ Child That's going to be born in her But you know, it wasn't the first time this was announced.

It was announced throughout the whole Old Testament and This is what baffles so many people that they don't understand the fact that this announcement has always Permeated the Bible the Bible is about the coming of the Messiah It's about the the character of the Messiah the credentials of the Messiah the crucifixion of the Messiah the coronation of the Messiah and the coming again of the Messiah That's what the Bible is about The Bible is about the Messiah Jesus Christ our Lord Unveils to us why it is he came how he came what he accomplished when he was here Through his death burial resurrection and of course is coming again to set up his kingdom on earth That that's the story of the Bible It all centers around the coming of the Messiah and that's why when people read the Bible they say, you know I don't really get anything out of it.

They don't get anything out of it because they go to read about themselves They don't go to read about the Messiah And when you understand the Bible is about the coming of Messiah the the Redeemer of Israel the Redeemer of man Then you begin to understand your situation in light of his coming But if you go to the Bible And read it looking for other kinds of answers other than what the Bible was intended to portray the character nature of our God You won't get anything out of it Because it's all about him.

It's all about the coming of the Messiah and That's what the Gospels try to explain to us What all took place and and how it all happened and came together just like the prophets of old said That's why after the resurrection It says these words in Luke 24 when Christ was on the road to Emmaus with two disciples He says this verse 25 Oh foolish men and slow of heart to believe and all that the prophets have spoken was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory and Beginning with Moses and with all the prophets he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures So our Lord on the road to Emmaus Began to explain to these men how the law of Moses Pointed to the coming of the Messiah How the prophets spoke of the coming of the Messiah he went to show them how the Old Testament is all about the Messiah and That they needed to understand that and so you can imagine what he must have said He must have taken him some way back to Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 to talk about the Messiah as the promised seed He must have somehow taken him back to Genesis chapter 49 that the Messiah would be the promised Shiloh the one to whom the scepter belongs and To him will be the obedience of the people He must have taken them back Somewhere to the book of Numbers the 24th chapter the Messiah would be the star that would arise Interesting to note that the Star of David of course is on that that flag of Israel star David's everywhere But do you know that before the birth of Christ the Star of David was?

the symbol about the coming of the Messiah Because the Jewish rabbis taught that the Messiah would be a star and that's why the star in the east that the wise men saw was God himself and You so we begin to understand that Jesus would have taken him back all the way back to the law of Moses all the way back To Genesis chapter 3 about the promise of the seed Genesis 49 when Jacob had blessed his sons about the promise of Shiloh coming through the descendants of Judah Back to Numbers 24 the Messiah would be a star back to Deuteronomy chapter 18 where the Messiah would be a seer or a prophet You can imagine what Christ must have said to them don't you remember what Moses said How it all came to be just like he said He would have taken him back to Psalm chapter 89 Show them how the Messiah would be the son of David Take him back to Isaiah chapter 4 Isaiah chapter 11 how the Messiah would be a sprout or shoot or a branch Taking back to Psalm 118 how the Messiah would be a stone that the builders rejected Take him back to Isaiah 49 Isaiah 52 Isaiah 53 to show him how the how the Messiah would be the servant who was to come Ezekiel 34 Psalm 23 how the Messiah would be the Shepherd Take him back to Isaiah 41 Isaiah 43 Isaiah 44 Isaiah 45 how the Messiah would be the Savior back to Malachi 4 verse number 2 how the Messiah would be the son su in of Righteousness taking them back to Daniel 7 verses 13 and 14 how the Messiah would be the Son of Man Taking them all the way back to Daniel chapter 2 Daniel chapter 7 to show the Messiah would be the sovereign king of the universe The whole Old Testament is about the coming of the promised Messiah today in Luke chapter 1 We have that announcement What had been predicted?

by the prophets of old Would have been promised by God himself Was now going to be presented to Mary that little village of Nazareth on this day in Luke chapter 1 This is a great day And I think it's so good that we would talk about the announcement of his coming In the next week, we're gonna talk about the whole reason he came he was born to die He came to give his life away But on this day in Luke chapter 1 this was the announcement that the Messiah Would arrive let me read it to you Luke chapter 1 verse number 26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth To a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David and the virgins name was Mary And coming in he said to her hail favorite one The Lord is with you But she was greatly troubled at this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be and the angel said to her do Not be afraid Mary for you have found favor with God and behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall Name him Jesus he will be great and Will be called the son of the Most High and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign Over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end and Mary said to the angel How can this be since I'm a virgin and the angel answered and said to her the Holy Spirit Will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the son of God and behold even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age and She who was called barren is now in her sixth month for nothing will be impossible with God and Mary said Behold the bond slave of the Lord be it done to me according to your word and the angel departed from her There is so much in these verses for us to address We'll spend a couple of weeks here understanding all about this announcement And that's what we're going to begin today looking first of all at the period of this announcement The Bible says it was in the sixth month Well, what's sixth month of that is that it's the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy That's when the angel came to Mary for the angel Gabriel says that Elizabeth is now in her sixth month She's a she who was called barren is now Pregnant and she's in her sixth month so it was in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy that the angel Gabriel would come to announce to Mary the coming of the Messiah The forerunner has already been conceived he will be born before the Messiah comes and he will begin his ministry some six months before Messiah begins his ministry and God has got it all planned out.

It's all been orchestrated in eternity past It is the perfect plan to come about at the perfect time because God is in complete control and that was the period of the coming of the Messiah Now think about this for a moment. I Thought about how how to say this and I'm not quite sure how to say it So I'm just gonna put it out there in the table. Let your wrestle with it and we'll go from there. Okay? this is the true Alien nation, this is the true idea of an alien something otherworldly coming to earth How do we know that?

folks this is deity wrapped in humanity This is a supernatural coming to the natural world This is something otherworldly coming to this world We need to understand that and let me give you three verses to get it Mark chapter 4 verse number 35 the disciples are on a boat There's great fear because they're going to die and there's a great storm coming upon them They awake the Lord Jesus who is sound asleep in the bottom of the boat and he causes the storm to cease and the water comes like glass and The disciples respond with this phrase.

Oh What manner of man is this? That even the winds and the seas obey him That phrase what manner is the phrase pot of pen which talks about something? That's otherworldly something that's from another dimension something That's nothing that we've ever seen or heard of in our lifetime. This is otherworldly This is foreign to us. This is in other words alien to us because we've never seen it What manner of man is this? what otherworldly kind of man is this that he can cause even the winds and the waves and the sea To obey him and then it says over in first John 3 verse number 1 Beloved.

Oh what manner of love is this That the Father has bestowed upon us That we should be called the children of God same phrase used as in Mark chapter 4 verse number 35 Oh, what otherworldly kind of love is this? Oh, what kind of alien love is this that we people who are depraved in nature would be? called the children of God It speaks of a of an otherworldly kind of love it speaks of a love from another dimension Something that's completely foreign to you and me something that we never see in a natural realm only see in a supernatural realm Because it's a God-given love see it's an unconditional love So we have the phrase used of our Lord being otherworldly in Mark 4 35 And then we have it used of his love for us in 1st John 3 verse number 1 and then it all comes together for us in 2nd Peter 3 verses 10 and 11 where it says that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night and this present universe will Be consumed with with fervent heat and be destroyed and because all these things are going to happen Peter says what manner of Man or what manner of people ought you to be in holy conduct in other words because all these things are going to happen and our Lord is from another dimension and his love is from another dimension then we need to be from another dimension We need to live Otherworldly we need to live alien lives and that's why Peter calls us aliens and strangers in a foreign land Because we are citizens of another country that is heaven itself and Just like our Lord was otherworldly and just like his love is from another dimension So to your life and mine ought to be so Alien so foreign to the world that people have to wonder where we actually are from Folks, that's the gospel That's basically the gospel right there and that's what it's all about and this is what's happening in Luke chapter 1 the descent of deity to humanity Said he himself would be clothed in flesh That's the incarnation and this is that announcement and it happens in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy.

That's the period Now we come to the place I'm a little excited about this. I Don't get excited about much but I do get excited about the things of the Lord And you know, I get a look started about this because listen to what it says it's it's it's almost as if it's just it's it it's just so So vanilla, let's put it that way the whole announcements vanilla, you know vanilla is just kind of plain You know I'm saying it's not like chocolate chip or mint chocolate chip or pralines and cream or or something like that You know, it's just it's vanilla.

Okay, it's just plain. There's no symbols. There's no trumpets. There's no horns There's no lights. There's no there. There's no procession. It's just the angel comes to Mary says Hello, Mary So it is hail. Hello Hello, favored one. Hello graced one It's all it is. It's just you think you'd come with horns lights and whistles man. This is the announcement of the Messiah this this very Vanilla very plain because you see that's how our Lord wanted it Simply that because it signifies his humility, doesn't it?

Laying aside his attributes Philippians to emptying himself and coming to earth as a man Listen to what it says The sixth month of the the angel Gabriel sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth Now folks to me That's greatly important Why did he choose Nazareth? Well, that's where Mary lived. But why did Mary live in Nazareth? Why did she live in Capernaum? Why she live in Tiberias? How come she didn't live? somebody's else Why she live in Nazareth? Why is that so strategic? Why is that so unique what's so important about Nazareth?

Why couldn't she be from another city? This is important. You need to understand this You need to put your teeth into this thing sink him down deep chew on it for a while because this becomes so Strategically important our God doesn't do anything Haphazardly doesn't do anything by accident. He's got it all planned out very Methodically, he's got a great plan You know if you leave here today leave knowing that our God's got a great plan you're a part of that plan You know, and he's got a plan for your life to just to save you from your sin and and use you in his kingdom But you know, our Lord has got it all mapped out just just right this place Nazareth Luke had to describe He'd tell it was in the Galilee because most people would not know where Nazareth was It's at a place called the Galilee of the Gentiles that's very important Why is it the announcement didn't come to the hubbub of Jewish religion and culture Jerusalem?

I? Mean that's that's that's the center of it, right? Why not Jerusalem? Why is it Mary didn't live in Jerusalem? Why was she in Nazareth? Well, that's where she was born. I know that But you know, why didn't God have her be born in Jerusalem because you see Nazareth was was surrounded by Gentile villages and Gentile people and was at the on the slopes of a of a little mount where for people for the Gentile world will go back and forth and back and forth and Back and forth. It's almost as if our Lord would say these words My son will come to a family from Nazareth and Galilee Because he will be the Savior not only of the Jewish people But also of believers from every tribe every nation and every tongue now that's important Let me help you understand a little bit about Nazareth.

Let's let's think of this tree as Nazareth Okay, I'm gonna give you a little object. Let this tree is Nazareth let's say it's the northern tip of the Jezreel Valley The northern tip of the Jezreel Valley or you can say the Valley of Ezra on you probably know best as the Valley of Megiddo So it's on a on a slope that that just descends into the Valley of Ezra So let's just say this whole stage area is the Valley of Ezra on or the Jezreel Valley or the Valley of Megiddo down to where Marlene would sit over here would be the tell of Megiddo Where Chris is sitting would be Mount Carmel?

Where those trees there are the back underneath the cross would be Mount Tabor That's where the Catholics say that Jesus ascended into heaven or that's Jesus Trans Jesus's transfiguration was with Peter James and John and Moses Elijah That's not true, it's really truly on Mount Hermon not on Mount Tabor, but Let's just understand it at that point for now on that's what about Tabor would be so Nazareth is surrounded by three great mounts Carmel Megiddo and Tabor Now this becomes very important Why is that?

Because this area here the Valley of Ezra on or the Valley of Megiddo is a vast vast Valley, it's huge absolutely huge and Descended into that Valley would be this little town Called Nazareth if you were to stand in that town today, you'll be able to overlook the Valley of Ezra on or the Jezreel Valley or the Valley of Megiddo now, why is that so strategic? You know when you read through the Bible you don't read about our Lord ever laughing except in the great messianic psalm psalm 2 Let me read it to you psalm 2 Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devised in a vain thing?

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us He who sits in the heavens What's next phrase? There you go He laughs and the Lord scoffs at them Then he will speak to them in his anger and terrify them in his fury But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion my holy mountain I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me thou art my son today I've begotten thee ask of me and I will surely give the nations as thine inheritance and the very ends of the earth as thy possession Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron thou shalt shatter them like earthenware Now therefore king show discernment take warning no judges of the earth worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling To homage to the Son lest he become angry and you perish in the way for his wrath may soon be kindled How blessed are all who take refuge in him every Jewish rabbi every Jewish individual tell you that it that is the number one messianic psalm It's all about the coming of Messiah And it begins with a question Why are the nation's in an uproar Why are the kings of the earth taking their stand against my anointed one?

Well, if you read Revelation 16, it says this And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the False prophet three unclean spirits like frogs for they are spirits of demons performing signs Which go out to the kings of the whole world to gather them together for the war the great day of God the Almighty Verse 16 and they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called har Megiddon or literally the valley of Megiddo So you take Psalm 2 with Revelation 16 and you begin to ask the question Why is it all the kings of the earth gather together against the Lord's anointed and where is the Lord's anointed from?

He is from Nazareth Jesus the Nazarene and what in Nathanael say in John 1 46 can anything good Come out of Nazareth and when you read John chapter 18 and they're in the garden to Gethsemane and there the Lord goes the entrance of the garden and meets the 800 Soldiers that come to get him you have 600 in a cohort you have about 200 temple police So you got about 800 people all with torches all with lanterns all with swords all with spears Coming to find the light of the world coming to fight him who is the prince of peace He goes and he meets them.

They're at the entrance of the garden and he asked whom do you seek and they say Jesus the Nazarene The despicable one and he says I am And you know what the astounding thing about that is is that they all fall over except Judas They all fall over the text says in John 18 that Judas was standing alone and They all fell over they all fell over backwards all 800 soldiers fell over backwards. Whom do you seek Jesus the Nazarene? I Am and bang they all fell over in there. There was Judas all by himself and they all get back up again It's almost as if our Lord is showing us his sense of humor Excuse me Who is it?

You're seeking again, and they said same thing Jesus the Nazarene You see here is the time God laughs He laughs because in the valley of Megiddo in the valley of Ezra on in the Jezreel Valley what you have gathered together is all the kings of the east as They get ready get ready for the great war against God And you can almost see as the soldiers would gather in through the tribulation time Against the war against God that even some of them would even maybe even look back and see the town of Nazareth What good thing can come out of there and the Lord scoffs at them The Lord laughs at them you're coming against me You're coming against mine anointed one It's almost as if he strategically placed the city To overlook the valley where in the future all the kings of the world will gather together to fight the one that they said Nothing good can ever come out of Nazareth See to me that's significant You might not think that means much to you, but let me tell you something.

God doesn't do anything by accident. It's all appointment It's all done his way his timing and that place is strategically located on the northern tip of the Jezreel Valley So that it oversees all those who will one day gather together to fight against the anointed one the Messiah He scoffs at them He laughs at that don't you know that I have installed my king on Mount Zion Don't you know it's already been predetermined that he will rule and reign therefore do homage to the king bow and worship him now Because if you don't bow and worship him you Will suffer eternal separation from him and that's why the place is so significant You need to understand that It needs to be fixed in your mind Luke has to tell the people who's writing to where it is because they wouldn't necessarily know it's such a small little town You can go there today, and they they've got a church there.

It's called the church of the Annunciation It's where they say traditionally that that Mary was when she received the announcement from the angel Gabriel We doubt that that was the place, but that's what they say There's another church there called the church of the synagogue. That's the one we go to that's the one we preach out of Luke chapter 4 and when we get to Luke 4 and in the fall sometime We'll talk to you about the significance of the church of the synagogue and what Christ did on that day when he stood up to preach and preached out of Isaiah 61 But Nazareth the place Where our Lord Was from he was born in Bethlehem the city of David But he was from Nazareth Sir, Mary was for Joseph was So you need to understand number one the period of the announcement number two the place of The announcement and then number three the person To whom the announcement was made and tell us tells us That the angel was sent to a virgin Who's engaged to Joseph?

whose name is Mary Her name means exalted one And she would be Come that blessed one The angel would come to Mary and you know, isn't it interesting? It gives no background to Mary You know these Zacharias and Elizabeth got a verse in chapter 1 verse number 6 where it says that they were both righteous in the sight of God walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the law So we know a little bit about Zacharias and Elizabeth. They were obedient to God. They they had a standing with God They were righteous before God.

They walked blamelessly before God. They were sanctified justified People of God we know that about them. But with Mary all we know she was a virgin. That's all we know No history on Mary Could be because she was only about 12 or 13 years of age max How do we know that? You see in those days and even some today The children were betrothed to one another Families would get together And say, you know, I I would like to have my son for your daughter your daughter for my son And they would talk about that betrothal To be you know, I mean going to Chris and saying, you know, I I got AJ here.

You got Maddie over there Let's uh, you know, let's let's let's just put this thing together now so that when they get older, you know They they can be together, you know, it's one of those kind of things and it was a good thing because About the time they reach puberty they would be betrothed to someone and this listen would be a great protection of The man and the woman's virginity we should probably adopt this today, you know Because sometimes our children don't make the best choice when it comes to mates So maybe if we betrothed them to somebody it might help the process a little bit but that that's what they did and and it would help guarantee their virginity because they would be engaged that person and the only way You could break the betrothal was if that person had violated that that commitment Had committed adultery Then there would be grounds to to break off that betrothal or they died see and Mary was engaged or betrothed to Joseph Who was the descendant of David Joseph was a son of David through Solomon.

Mary was a descendant of David through Nathan and we'll talk about that in Luke chapter 3 If you read Matthew 1 you understand that it is Joseph in the line of Solomon in David's line through Solomon and Mary in Luke 3 who's in David's line through his son Nathan Now that's extremely important Why Turn back to me if you would to the book of Jeremiah Jeremiah 22 you must hurry because time is fleeting by Mm-hmm the quicker you turn the quicker. I read the quicker. I read the quicker. I speak the quicker.

I speak the quicker We're done. Okay, so look Jeremiah chapter 22 verse number 28 is this man Connaya, maybe yours says Jecon aya, or Jehoiachin is this man Connaya a despised shattered jar or is he an undesirable vessel Well to Israel he wasn't But to God he was Why have he and his descendants been hurled out and cast into a land that they had not known? Oh land land land hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord write this man down Childless, wait a minute. Can I had seven children all from different wives?

so why does God say writing down childless a Man, he says who will not prosper in his days for no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah Wow God curses the line of David the king Connaya is the last King in the line of David his uncle Zedekiah would follow him, but his uncle would die while Connaya was still imprisoned and God says no king Will sit on the throne of David from his line.

And this is what got the Jewish rabbis all confused Because if Messiah was to come he had to be From the line of David and God says listen, I'm cutting down the family tree But he says in chapter 23 from that stump will come a branch will come a shoot will come a sprout Let's know what he says Jeremiah 23 verse number 5 behold the days are coming declares the Lord when I shall raise up for David a righteous branch and He will reign as a king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land in his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely and this is his name by which he will be called the Lord our righteousness God says I have a plan and That plan is a marvelous one and I will still rise up a righteous branch from David But it won't come through His son Solomon that will come through a son Nathan folks.

Let me tell you something God had it all worked out And if the rabbis would just understand Isaiah 7 14 that that a Virgin will conceive and bear a child that his name will call be called Emmanuel God with us and Isaiah chapter 9 where they understand that a child would be born but a son would be given a Child would be born.

That's the natural birth, but the son would be given. That's the adoption They could just understand what the prophets had said They would understand the the the confusion they had with Jeremiah 22 and be able to reconcile it with Jeremiah 23 that there would be a righteous branch who would come that branch that net seer that that Sprout that shoot that would come Isaiah chapter 4 Isaiah chapter 11 verses 1 and 2 talk about the coming of the Messiah He was called a branch. Oh by the way Just a case you need didn't understand this the town Nazareth is the village of the branch just so you can all bring it together and Understand that God has a perfect plan I Mean we just need to get it and this is so good.

It's so juicy. It's so rich. It's so full. It's so exciting I mean, this is what it's all about the coming of the Messiah And it's all been perfectly laid out in the mind and plans of God and as it begins to unfold we can see it We can see the saga of salvation unfolding before our very eyes as we go through Luke chapter 1 and Luke chapter 2 This is what it's all about and we need to understand that As we begin to read through Luke chapter 1 and understand the period of this announcement the place of this announcement and the person To whom the announcement was given Mary Some obscure village To some obscure virgin Parthenos is the word used there.

It's the Greek word. It means a woman who's never known a man Sexually she is a virgin But you must understand as Christians today that there are two major passages of scriptures that you must interpret correctly to Determine whether or not you're a Roman Catholic or a born-again Christian Matthew chapter 16 when Christ asked the disciples who'd have been say that I am and the keys given to Peter in the significance of the rock and Luke chapter 1 What you believe about Matthew 16 and how you interpret it will determine whether or not you're a Roman Catholic or you're a born-again Believer in Jesus Christ our Lord and how you interpret Luke chapter 1 verse number 28 Would tell you exactly what you believe About Mary the mother of Jesus the Roman Catholic Church Has used the Latin Vulgate translation mistranslation to interpret this verse They interpret it Hail Mary full of grace That is not what the Greek text says Because of their mistranslation of this verse the doctrine of Mariology has arisen Because she's full of grace in their mind she has perfect graced Therefore she must have been immaculately conceived theremore she therefore she must have been without sin and Because she was that without sin and full of grace.

She now becomes the dispenser of grace to others and Because she is the dispenser of grace because quote she is full of grace Therefore she could not die like any mere mortal would have died She had to have ascended into heaven and they believe in that as well that Mary never really died They believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary and they base it on Luke chapter 1 that she's a virgin and she never ever had any More children. She remained a virgin because if she's full of grace and she is perfect and all of that Is wrong if you're from the Roman Catholic persuasion today, I don't want to get you upset I'm what you want to get you mad.

I just want to let you know that that's not what the Greek text says It simply says Hello Mary You've been graced by God, that's it it doesn't say she's full of grace It says she's been graced by God See for us to believe that Mary was full of grace and sinless would cause us to deny Romans 3 23 What says for all of sinned and fall short of the glory of God? If that was the case, you have to say all of sin except Mary And fall short of the glory of God, but that's not what the text says either, right?

So we must get that We know that Mary did not remain a virgin because when you read Matthew read Mark and read Acts chapter 1 She had other children because Jesus had half-brothers and half-sisters So we know that there were other ones in the family and to say that Mary ascended into heaven and never died Listen very carefully It makes her greater than her son Jesus who did die please understand that and Therefore would deny Hebrews 9 47 that is appointed at a man wants to die after that the judgment Everybody dies Unless you experienced a rapture the church or unless your name's Elijah the prophet Everybody dies And we know Elijah said it in heaven because we read that in 2nd Kings chapter 2 So we understand that But there's no place in Scripture where Mary ascended into heaven.

It's very simply stated Hello, Mary Hello exalted one You've been graced by God Folks that is so powerful because you see that's the exact same thing that happened to Noah way back in Genesis 6 Noah found favor in the eyes of God Noah was graced by God It's first time the word grace is used in the Bible when it refers to Noah Because that emphasized the fact that Noah was just as wicked and his heart was sent on evil Just like everybody else in the world was but God decided to grace one man in his family No God just decided to grace that man And that man lived and everybody else died Because of the grace of God not because Noah I know the text says that Noah walked righteously and he walked in the ways of God But that was after he had been graced by God.

See God didn't grace him because of what he did That's the whole essence of grace is that it can't be earned. You can't do anything to merit the favor of God And so therefore Noah was graced by God God spared Noah Destroyed the whole world and started over again with Noah's family Mary Was graced by God And you know the text says that she was troubled by the statement The Lord is with you, but she was greatly troubled at the state. Why was she troubled? Because she knew how unworthy she was She knew that she was a sinner.

That's why in Luke 1 47. It says that God is my What? Savior you don't need a Savior if you're sinless, right? I mean, it's as simple as that See the problem with Catholicism is the same problem with Judaism Judaism believe not what the Bible says, but what the rabbis say in Catholicism Catholics don't believe what the Bible says they believe what the priest says Nobody reads the Bible for themselves You've got to study the Bible read the Bible yourself to understand exactly what's there I don't expect anybody our churches just to believe it because I said it You got to believe it because that's exactly what the Word of the Lord says That's the important thing And so we need to understand what God's Word has actually said about Mary and she was Greatly troubled by this statement and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be You gotta be kidding me.

I'm unworthy. I am a sinner. How can I be graced by God? I deserve nothing and that's exactly why she was chosen by God because she knew she deserved nothing She knew that And God graced her and God would do a marvelous work in and through her life She is the exalted one she is a Great woman because of how God used her not because of who she was And when I look and I begin to understand that this woman was graced by God We have to ask ourselves the question have we found grace in the eyes of God Have we been graced by God If you're here today thinking that something that you've done or something that you have said or something that you have accomplished Has gained you some kind of status with God it has not and it will not the Bible says that all your righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God Everything that you do that you think is righteous Means nothing to God nothing because it's self-serving for you See and anything that's self-serving means nothing to God That's why he must grace you with his kindness and with his love and with his mercy And that's why he must grace you with the salvation That's why salvation is by grace through faith that not of yourselves lest you what boast and Where we very easily find ourselves boasting in what we have done and the accomplishments that we have achieved But when it comes to salvation There's nothing that we've done nothing it's the work of God in the heart of a man that takes one who is steep in their sin and Calls them to salvation that they might understand the grace and mercy of God Folks, let me tell you something that is The great announcement a woman undeserving was graced by God Said the Christ child would be born So you and me who are undeserving?

Will be graced by God Let's pray Our most gracious heavenly father what a joy it is for us to Sit back and marvel at your plan and while we might not fully understand everything there is to know We do know this You are absolutely Impeccable all that you do And your plan is always right and pure and true and holy and Lord you had the right plan from the very beginning And I pray Lord for every man and woman in this room today that they would understand the grace behind that plan the grace of Almighty God bestowed upon Zacharias and Elizabeth They might bear the forerunner to the Messiah Bestowed upon Mary and Joseph They would give birth to the Messiah And that Lord your grace would abound because the Bible says That we beheld his glory full of grace and truth And you truly are the God of all grace And may no one leave this room today without experience the grace of God and salvation we pray in Jesus name.

Amen