The Gospel according to Luke
Mary said 'Yes'
"I am the Lord's servant, may it be as you have said."
When a man proposes to a woman he waits and waits for the 'Yes'. When the woman says 'Yes' the man is sooo excited.
God was excited when Mary said 'Yes to his proposal.
Mary let God shape her
Mary said 'Yes' with her life
God wants you to say 'Yes' with your life
What is God asking you to do?
How are you going to respond?
God is excited when you say 'Yes' to his proposal It wasn't about Mary's ability either is was all about her availability. She was highly favoured which means she had much Grace upon her
James 1:22 -24
Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. The Message
Another thing about Mary is that she emptied herself, she emptied herself of her own plan,& her ambitions for the future. She was an empty vessel ready to be filled by God, filled with Jesus
Mary also had to say 'No' she had no union with Joseph until she gave birth to Jesus. That must have been very difficult for her.You see, when you say 'Yes' to God you have to say 'No' to some things
It's not that these things are wrong, it's just that you must focus on what you've said 'Yes' to
When there was security over George Bush visiting Buckingham palace one year. The security wasn't really there to secure the palace but instead to bring security to the people inside. Just like this, Jesus is our security. He doesn't want to just secure our being but our very sprit inside.
We mustn’t just feel the need to secure a church building but we need to secure the fellowship of the people inside, that's more important to do.
[Superman]
Everyone has a kryptonite - what is your kryptonite?
Stay away from it!
Don't kid yourselves thinking you can go near it and still stay on the straight and narrow - flee from evil, your evil.
John 14:30
Evil has no claim on Jesus and so if you stay with Jesus and Jesus in you, evil will have no claim on you either.
Mary was misunderstood
She was unaccepted
She was threatened [to be divorced quietly]
People measure their success by the media: What car they have, house, clothes, lifestyle etc
[My words added]
Do not measure success by popularity, fame or fortune, instead measure success by F.O.R
'Faithfulness'
'Obedience'
&
'Righteousness'
When Jesus told Peter how he would be killed, Peter's first words were, 'But what about John?’ [you know the one who Jesus loved!]
Jesus says to you, stop looking at other people and measuring yourselves against them! This is about YOU!
Mary was strange
There was something different about her
And others didn't understand her or what God was doing in her life
The same goes for you. People may not understand what God is doing in your life and why you do the things you do, but keep doing them, be obedient to God.
So what was Joseph's response to all this?
Well Joseph was really angry. The woman who he was in love with was pregnant and it wasn’t his baby!
Joseph was going to divorce her. But the scripture reads: God's righteousness doesn't grow from human anger [James 1:20 ]
Joseph was going to do this 'quietly' to cause her no shame or embarrassment
Joseph was showing his love for her in this way
Well, guess what? God feels the same way about you!
God is a jealous God and although he has every right to 'divorce' us instead he pours out his love and mercy on us every day
Joseph was visited by an angel too, as he slept and although he was passionately angry as any man would be, he still heard the whisper of God's voice, heard and understood it.
Joseph was obedient even though God's plan wasn't in line with his own.
We must listen and hear God speak into every area of our lives. God's voice is like a whisper in the storm but we must try to hear him.
1 Kings 19: 12A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.
When you wash something up, you don't just empty it, you wash it, rinse it and drain it. This is what must happen to us so that we can be filled with God.
But does that mean we have to be perfect?
No
David had an affair with a married woman and killed her husband but God still used him
Abraham disowned his wife calling her his sister but God still used him
Peter disowned Jesus but the church was still 'built' on Peter
Paul killed thousands of Christian men & women but God still used Paul
And God can use you and I, imperfect vessels
Empty yourselves, draw close to him, listen and obey...