Luke 1:26–38

[0:00] In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

[0:13] And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. And she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

[0:25] 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 call his name Jesus.

[0:38] And he will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

[0:50] And of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

[1:06] Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son. And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

[1:20] For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed.

[1:32] This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Good morning. Good morning.

[1:43] It's good to be with you as we head toward Christmas and enjoy the journey together. Let me pray and we'll get started.

[1:55] Father, we honor you this morning. For this day, for your grace that beams so brightly upon us. We bless and we honor your name.

[2:06] Thank you for the family gathered. Thank you that you've gathered with us. May we hear and heed your word today as our prayer. In Jesus name. Amen.

[2:16] Amen. Amen. Amen. Birth announcements are not new to our congregation. Last Sunday with the birth announcement of Stella Scaletta.

[2:28] That has made nine births for our congregation within the year. And let me say that the girls outnumber the boys by two to one.

[2:41] Six girls. Three boys. Well, Luke chapter one gives us two birth predictions. And last week's text, the word came to an aged priest who had an aged wife.

[3:00] That there would have a son. And there were great things that were predicted about this son. He would be used of God in a very unique way.

[3:14] Would be filled with the spirit from his mother's womb. Check it out, folks. No ultrasound. But God knew what was going on.

[3:25] Gender. Destiny. All of that predicted beforehand. Promise was hard to believe. And the Lord had to do a little arm twisting for Zechariah to get him on board with his agenda.

[3:45] Nevertheless, the reluctant priest did what he needed to do. And Elizabeth conceived. A child. A child. Last week's text ended.

[3:56] You can see in chapter one and verse 24. Elizabeth was in her second trimester. Fifth, five months into her pregnancy.

[4:08] She's in seclusion. Perhaps a little stunned. Perhaps a little stunned. By the kindness of God. In that. Here was a woman who had been unable to bear.

[4:22] Infertile. But God had removed. The reproach. The shame. Of that situation. And here she was. With child.

[4:33] Huh? Just think. What the talk would be in our congregation. If Shirley said she was expecting. Huh?

[4:46] An agent. People on AARP and Social Security. Medicare. Huh? Think of what the buzz would be.

[4:56] Not only in the congregation. But in the family. Maybe in the city. How that would land. Huh? Huh? But Elizabeth. There she was. Probably.

[5:08] Perhaps embracing it all. Words not out quite yet. But. It's on. The way. Huh? But there's yet another birth prediction. In the text today.

[5:20] We have one. Before us. One of those. Hold on to your seat. Kind of passages. There are several of those. In scripture. But this one is before us.

[5:31] And I pray that we would. Be able. With both head and heart. To be able to capture. What here. What's here. And perhaps. With the momentum. Of this text.

[5:43] Would be able to. Sort of. Navigate. The season. Well. That we have. Come to. Huh? Let's take a look. At what's before us.

[5:53] The first thing we see. Is Gabriel's. Mission. We see that in verses. One through twenty six. Huh? It's the sixth month. That's the point of reference.

[6:04] And the point of reference. Is to. Elizabeth's. Pregnancy. Gabriel has once again. Been sent on a mission. On a mission. By God.

[6:14] Huh? Then notice. Check it out. Look where he is sent. Sent on a mission from God. To a city of Galilee. Called Nazareth. Huh? The dispatch from heaven.

[6:26] Is that he. Was to. Go to. The lowly. Galilean. Village. Of Nazareth. This contrasted.

[6:36] In both. With size. And significance. With Jerusalem. Where he had been sent to before. Nazareth. Off the beaten path. Up there.

[6:47] In Galilee. Of the nations. Huh? Across the tracks. Kind of place. A place where. The inhabitants. Were deemed. To be second class citizens.

[6:59] When compared. With inhabitants. Of Judea. And Jerusalem. This friends. Was not on. The north shore. Of Chicago. It wasn't.

[7:09] The gold coast. Wasn't even. Hyde Park. If you will. It's more like. Pilsen. Or. Whitlon.

[7:20] Or. Austin. Or. Inglewood. Or. Fort Heights. Or. Altgill. That's the kind of place. Wow. And God is all.

[7:30] He. Has. A. Maid. There. That he's. Identified. And it may not be. Even a place. That you and I. Would want to live.

[7:40] You remember. The saying. John chapter 1. Verse 46. Can any. Good thing. Come out of. Nazareth. Huh? But notice. Not only the place.

[7:51] He sent. Not simply to a place. He sent there. To a person. And we see Mary's. Profile there. In verse 7. In verse 27. To a virgin. Gabriel. And. Gabriel.

[8:02] Gabriel. Gabriel. Was sent to a place. But more specifically. To a person. And she. Was a virgin. The reference here. Is to an unmarried. Girl. A woman. And Luke. Is careful. To include this information.

[8:13] In this verse. We see it twice. Here. Don't we? The virgin. Betrothed. And we see. Then the virgin's. Name. She is promised. In marriage. Fledged in marriage.

[8:23] There has been. An official. Ceremony. That has brought them together. There's probably been. Perhaps an exchange. Of goods. That were there. It's probably been. A time set. When they actually. Actually would live together.

[8:35] As husband and wife. And this was so binding. In that day. That it would take. A decree. A divorce. Even to separate. Them. She's. Pledged in marriage.

[8:45] To a man named Joseph. Descended. Of the great. Israel. Like. King. David. Her name. In that day. It would be Miriam.

[8:56] We know her. As Mary. So he came to her. And greeted her. With the words. That we find. In verse 28. Greetings.

[9:07] Oh favorite one. The Lord. Is with you. This particular greeting. Spoke. Of her. As an object. Of God's.

[9:19] Special. Favor. His grace. Sovereignly. Particularly. Selected. By God. For his favor.

[9:30] And at this part. We're in the text. As for us. What that might be. But not for long. Similar words. Words that we hear. In this particular text.

[9:41] We hear an echo. Of them. I believe. Back in Judges. Chapter 6. And let me just. Have you turned. There with me. Judges.

[9:52] Chapter 6. In your Bibles. If you will. And. We have. There. The person. That we know.

[10:03] As Gideon. Look at verse. 12. Please. And I'm going to read. Through verse 18. The angel.

[10:13] The angel. Of the Lord. Appeared to him. And said to him. And this is Gideon. Saying to Gideon. The Lord. Is with you. Oh. Mighty.

[10:23] Man. Of valor. Gideon. Said to him. Please sir. If the Lord. Is with this. Why then. Has all this. Happened to us. And where are all. His wonderful deeds.

[10:33] That our fathers. Recounted to us. Saying. Did not the Lord. Bring us up. From Egypt. But now the Lord. Has forsaken us. And given us. Into the hand of Midian. And the Lord. Turned to him. And said.

[10:43] Go in this might. Of yours. And save Israel. From the hand of Midian. Do not. I send you. And he said. Please Lord. How can I save Israel? Behold. My clan.

[10:54] Is the weakest. In Manasseh. And I'm the least. In my father's house. And the Lord. Said to him. But I will be with you. And you shall strike. The Midianites. As one man.

[11:05] And he said. If I have found. Favor. In your eyes. Then show me. A sign. That it is you. Who speaks. With me.

[11:15] What's the point? In that Old Testament text. There was a person. Small in his own eyes. Who found favor with God. And the Lord.

[11:26] Was with him. For a particular. Assignment. There the Lord. Revealed his plan. For the rescue. Of the nation.

[11:37] There the Lord. Used one. Considered. We can. Insignificant. As one. Who was a part. Of his plan. Gideon.

[11:47] Would not have been. At the top of our list. For an assignment. That the Lord. Had given him. And neither. Would. Mary. Huh. Just think about her.

[11:58] Here she is. Probably a little. Beyond. Her mid. Teens. But. Such. An. Assignment. I mean. This is a person. That we may. We may have.

[12:09] To do babysitting. For us. But look. At the magnitude. Of the assignment. That was. Before her. The Lord. In his grace. In his wisdom.

[12:20] Had a plan. And this young. Jewish maid. Of humble circumstances. Factored. Into it. And thus. We see her response. In verse.

[12:31] 29. Huh. In Zachariah. One and twelve. Zachariah. I mean. In Luke one and twelve. Zachariah. Was troubled. When he saw Gabriel.

[12:42] Mary. Mary. Was even more perplexed. And notice. What she was perplexed about. She was greatly troubled. At the saying. She was greeted.

[12:54] As a favorite one. And was told. That the Lord. Is going to be. With you. Huh. She was troubled. At that particular saying. She was shocked.

[13:05] She was stunned. Why? Both the content. And the ultimate. Source of them. Huh. God has graced you. Is what he's saying. And God is with you.

[13:16] The word suggests. That the Lord. Had something. In his mind. For Mary. To do. And he had graciously. Chosen her for that.

[13:27] And that he. He was going to be with her. In that process. So it seems like. Gabriel's words. Were actually. A prelude. To this assignment.

[13:38] That was going to be given. And Mary. Sort of. Understood. This. Far from being. A casual. Empty greeting. Mary discerned. The gravity.

[13:49] And the weightiness. Of Gabriel's words. That were spoken to her. And thus. We see. In verse 30. The angel said to her. Do not be afraid. Mary. For you have found.

[14:01] Favor with God. Reiterated that. He called her by name. And how reassuring. This was. God's favor. Was going to be. Her portion.

[14:12] That being the case. There was no need. To fear. Gabriel uttered. Those reassuring words. How tender. And sensitive. And caring.

[14:23] These words. For God. To this young maiden. Huh? A teenage maiden. A maiden. What? Amazing. That God. Would do. This.

[14:34] In and through her. You needn't be afraid. Because of God's grace. Needn't be afraid. Because of God's favor. There's nothing to fear. Grace friends.

[14:45] Is a very comforting reality. Huh? That doesn't mean. That what the Lord asked of us. Might not. Might be easy. But God's grace.

[14:56] Goes with God's assignment. Huh? His grace is sufficient. Indeed. And may each of us. Be reminded of that. Even as Mary.

[15:07] Was reminded. The mission. Has taken. Gabriel. To the right place. And has taken him. To the right person. Notice. But in verses.

[15:18] 31 through 33. We have Gabriel's. Message. There. Huh? The message. Was that. Mary was going to give birth. To a special son. And if we listen closely.

[15:30] To the message. That Gabriel gives. We will hear. Both echoes. And allusions. To old testament. Text. That spoke. Of a promised one. Who was to come.

[15:40] These were. Prophetic promises. That would have. Their fulfillment. In the son. That Mary would bear. Look at verse 31. Huh? You shall.

[15:52] Be a mother. You're going to be a mother. In essence. Is what is said. And you're going to have a son. Notice. If what we see there. Behold. You will conceive. In your womb. And bear a son.

[16:03] And you will call. His name. Jesus. Mary. You're going to be a mom. You're going to call the son. Yeshua. Joshua. Jesus. As we know it. Huh? And this friends.

[16:15] Would be a fulfillment. Of what we have. In the old testament scripture. Isaiah. Seven and fourteen. So there's a sense. Of course. There's a prophetic.

[16:25] You might say checklist. And here we have. Isaiah seven fourteen. And you can turn to it. But therefore. The Lord himself. Shall be with you. And give you a sign. Behold. The virgin. Will conceive.

[16:37] And bear a son. And you will call his name. Emmanuel. God. With us. Huh? A fulfillment. Of that. Speaks of a virgin. Being with son.

[16:48] Being born. Of a woman. But. He's Mary's son. Isaiah seven fourteen. Check it off. If you will. Notice verse thirty two. Huh?

[16:59] Mary. Your son. Will also be known. As the son. Of the most high. John. Chapter one. Of Luke. Verse seventy six. He's going to be the prophet. Of the most high. But Mary.

[17:10] Your son. Is going to be. The son. Of the most high. He will be great. He will be called. The son. Of the most high. And the Lord. God. Will give to him.

[17:21] The throne. Of his father. David. Huh? Mary's son. Would it. Would. In a very unique way. Share the very nature. Of God. Huh? That's what it means.

[17:32] To be a son. Of. To share the nature. Of. Huh? Mary's son. God's son. Huh? But Mary. You have a son. Your son. Will be called. The son of God.

[17:42] But. But most high. He will. Also be the son. Of David. And will inherit. David's throne. Again.

[17:53] Here we go. Second Samuel. Chapter seven. I will give you rest. From all your enemies. God's word. To David. Fulfillment. Of the Davidic covenant. Moreover.

[18:03] The Lord declares to you. That the Lord. Will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled. And you lie down. With your fathers. I will raise up your offspring. After you. And you shall come from. Who shall come from your body.

[18:14] I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house. For my name. And I will establish. The throne of his kingdom. Forever. Isaiah seven. Fourteen. Check. Huh?

[18:25] Second Samuel. Seven. Eleven. Thirteen. Check. Huh? He fulfilled that. Also Psalm 89. And 132. Would go along with that.

[18:36] Look at verse 33. Which speaks about the scope. And the duration. Of Mary's son's rule. That's what comes into view. There. View there. The rule will be. Comprehensive.

[18:47] And enduring. Huh? His would be. An eternal rule. Isaiah. Nine and seven. Of the increase. Of his government. And peace. There will be no end. On the throne of David.

[18:58] And over his kingdom. To establish it. And to uphold it. With justice. And with righteousness. From this time forth. Even forevermore. The zeal. Of the Lord of hosts. Will perform this.

[19:09] Another check. God's promises. Of old. Would find their fulfillment. In the one. That Mary. Was going to bring. Into this world.

[19:19] That was the essence. Of Gabriel's message. That he gave. To this Jewish maid. On that day. Huh? What would be. The logical question.

[19:30] That would come from that. Mary. Ask. Ask. Ask. That. In verse 34. Mary said to the angel. How will this be? Since I am a virgin.

[19:42] Unlike Zachariah. She doesn't ask for a sign. Based on his disbelief. Or his unbelief. She asked for an explanation.

[19:52] Of the process. In other words. How is this going to happen? How is this going to be? How is this going to be accomplished? After all. By her own admission. In verse 34. She is a virgin.

[20:03] Huh? Regarding. Mary's conception. We see in verse 35. The Holy Spirit. Will come upon you. And the power. The most high. Will overshadow you.

[20:14] Therefore. The child. Who be born. Will be called. Holy. The son of God. Huh? Would not be. By. Normal means. Huh? Neither would it be. After the order.

[20:25] Of pagan myth. And fancy. Where gods would cohabit. With humans. And sexual activity. Not so. Through. God's dynamic.

[20:36] Creative. Power. Huh? She would consume. Conceive. In her womb. And would bear a son. Huh? Could not the one. Who spoke the worlds.

[20:47] Into existence. And in science. And faith Sunday school. You see how. Big and vast. This world. And universe. Actually is. All the work of God.

[20:58] Could not the one. Who designed. Human anatomy. Create life. In the womb. Lo. He despised. Not. The virgin's womb. Huh? God was going to do it.

[21:11] In his own way. By his own power. And life would be implanted. In the womb. Of this virgin. Girl. Huh? Notice the trinitarian.

[21:23] Dimensions of the verse. You see it there. In verse 35. The Holy Spirit. Will come upon you. The power of the most high. Will overshadow you.

[21:35] The child to be born. He will be. The very son of God. Huh? How would the humanly. Impossible thing. How would it's going to be accomplished?

[21:45] It's not going to be done. By anything less. Than the power of the Lord God himself. Huh? Conception. Would be by. The most high. Huh?

[21:56] The essence. Of Gabriel's message. Was that God's promises of old. Would find their fulfillment. In Mary. In the child. That Mary was going to bring into the world.

[22:07] Huh? And here it was. That was told her. Even before. He was conceived. Luke takes us beyond. The birth. And beyond.

[22:18] The conception. To the announcement. That Gabriel actually gave. And this helps us friends. To be. Assured. In our faith. Based on this.

[22:29] Additional information. That Luke brings. To the table. Huh? He does so. By allowing us to see. This sacred scene. Where Gabriel. Is sent from God.

[22:41] To Mary. With these very words. Oh. What a precious picture. And what a precious scene. This is. That you and I. Get a glimpse into. In God's people. Down through the years.

[22:52] But guess what? Mary gets a bonus word. If you will. In. Verses. 36. And 37. Huh? Gabriel. Let's marry.

[23:02] In on something. That was not. Widespread. Information. Huh? And from. But this is. Information. That would confirm. That the God of heaven. Indeed.

[23:13] Was up to something. In the world. Huh? Your older relative. Elizabeth. Huh? She's with child. You remember.

[23:23] Elizabeth. Don't you? She's. The barren one. She's the one. Within the family. You know. When. You know. We all come to the family gatherings.

[23:34] And everybody's with your children. Yeah. You know. She's the one that didn't have any children. Yeah. She is with child. Yeah. Elizabeth. The one unable to bear. That one. Huh? Gabriel's words here.

[23:47] Mirror. What we hear. In Genesis chapter. 18 and 14. Where it was announced. That Sarah was going to have a baby. Huh?

[23:57] And it gives us this reminder. That reverberates down. From Abraham's time. To Mary's time. To us. With somewhat resounding clarity. What is this?

[24:08] With God. Huh? Nothing will be impossible. Again. That's the word. We hear that. In Genesis chapter 18. Verse 14. But impossible. Is not in the very vocabulary of God.

[24:22] Huh? He's. His capacity. I mean. He doesn't know. Inability. He has. Full. Blown. Capacity. Huh? Through his might and power.

[24:35] Stated positively. And I like to state it positively. All things are possible with God. And again. She. He lets her in on this thing. That has happened. Within her own family. Again.

[24:45] To help her. In her. Own belief. Huh? Huh? The message was timely. For Mary. And it is timeless for us. Huh? With God.

[24:57] All things. Are possible. Huh? Gabriel had delivered the message. That enables us to see Mary's son. Was indeed God's son. And in that process.

[25:09] A very cluster. Of old testament promises. Are fulfilled in that. Huh? Huh? And this message is given to this young maiden. Who had been favored by God.

[25:20] It is that she is presented with. An agreement. Huh? The likes of which there's never been in the world. How would she respond to this? Huh? Would she co-sign what God was doing?

[25:34] Would she be on board with what the very God of heaven. Was doing in the world? Huh? Saying. Co-signing what God co-signs.

[25:44] In this world. Is somewhat of a dangerous thing to do. Saying yes to God. Can be risky business. Huh? Rather than simplifying life.

[25:56] Saying yes to God. Really can complicate life. For you and me. Rather than ironing the wrinkles out of life. It can help put a lot of wrinkles in life. As we get on board.

[26:08] With what God is doing. Huh? Regarding Mary. Here you have a young maiden. Who is crossed. Is crossing the threshold. Into womanhood.

[26:19] She's young. And they're an experience. Again. She was the one. That was given the promise. That she was going to bear. The promise.

[26:29] Deliverer. Prophecy. And history. Had all pointed to this particular day. And so here she is. How would she respond? Look at her response in verse 38.

[26:41] And Mary said. Behold I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me. According to your word. Huh? Let it be to me. In other words.

[26:52] She's saying yes to the Lord. Huh? There are people this season. Who have to consider. What does the perfect Christmas look like? From this world's perspective.

[27:04] What will it be like? Huh? Will it be with. The joy of surrender. And submission. Huh? For some people. It will not be. Huh?

[27:15] Some. But those who perhaps say yes. And submit to God. Even in the midst of the messiness. And the minuses of life. Again.

[27:25] We see Mary. She did that. And provides. A great. It's. Her example. Is so instructive. For you and me. Think of a song. That.

[27:38] One of my favorite songs. That speaks about availability. And that's what Mary was. She was available to God. Yielding herself to him.

[27:50] For his purposes in the world. Huh? You gave me my hands. The song says. To reach out to man. To show him your love. And your perfect plan.

[28:02] You gave me my ears. I can hear your voice so clear. I can hear the cries of sinners. But can I wipe away their tears? You gave me my voice.

[28:13] To see. To speak your word. To sing all your praises. To those who've never heard. But with my eyes. I see a need. For more. Availability.

[28:25] I hear the hearts. Have been broken. So many people. To be free. But here's the. The course. And this is what it says. And this is in essence. What Mary said.

[28:35] Lord. I'm available. To you. My will. I give to you. I'll do what you say do.

[28:46] Use me Lord. To show someone the way. And enable me to say. My storage is empty. And I am available to you.

[28:58] In essence. That is what Mary said. It's what you might even call. Christmas surrender. A yielding of her heart. A yielding of her life. For God.

[29:10] And for his purposes. In the world. Yes Lord. Doesn't guarantee ease. Sometime. It indefinitely. Means pain. Those risky assignments.

[29:23] In life. Under the superintendents. Of the almighty. Are just right. For those who put their faith. In him. How we labor. So we don't have to bear. Shame and reproach.

[29:33] We want so much. For our faith. To be dressed. In the fashionable. Garb of this world. But sometimes. God asks us. To do. The unthinkable. He asks us.

[29:44] To do. The unimaginable. Huh. While this situation. Is quite unique. And will never. Be repeated again. It's not unlike. The Lord. To ask his servants. To do things.

[29:55] That would put us. At risk. In the eyes of the world. And that's what we have here. And Mary said. Lord. I'm in. Huh. I can co-sign that Lord. It may not.

[30:08] Seem. Right. Or glamorous. In the eyes of the world. But Lord. I'm in. I'm in. I am with you. I'm on board. With what you. Are doing.

[30:19] While this great passage. Enables us. To see. The work of the most high. To bring. His son. Into the world. The side benefit. Of what we see here. Is that the heavenly. Gabriel.

[30:29] And earthly. Mary. Servants. Were sovereignly. Chosen. By God. To participate. In this grand initiative.

[30:40] Huh. Mary was God's choice. And her. Response. Vindicates. God's gracious. Choice. Of her. Huh. She responded.

[30:52] She said. Yes. And friends. Even today. As we. Continue. Our journey. In this season. Self.

[31:03] Surrender. Is a fitting. Response. To God's grace. Self. Surrender. For you. And me. Is a fitting.

[31:13] Response. To God's grace. Oh. To grace. How great. A debtor. Daily. I'm constrained.

[31:24] To be. Let thy. Goodness. Like a fetter. Bind. My. Wondering. Heart. To you. Prone. To wander. Lord.

[31:35] I feel it. Prone. To leave. The God. I love. Here's my heart. Lord. Take it. And seal it. Seal it. For your. Courts. Courts above.

[31:46] Not only. Seal it. For your. Courts above. Lord. But seal it. For your. Purposes. In and through. Me. In and through. Us. In. This. World. Self-surrender.

[31:58] Friends. Is a fitting. Response. To the grace. Of God. And I would pray. That as we think. About. What's in our. Capacity. On.

[32:09] On the one. Hand. We may. Not have. Gifts. Lifts. That are big. And gift. Desires. That are big. But. What's one thing. That you do have. You and I.

[32:20] Who have been. Recipients. Of God's grace. Through his son. The Lord. Jesus Christ. What's our response. To that. What do you have to give.

[32:31] Is your response. Comparable. To what we see here. I am the servant. Of the Lord. Let it be to me. According to your word. Oh. Wow.

[32:41] Just think about that. She's yielding herself. She's saying yes to God. What would be your response. Today. To God's grace. As one. Who has received.

[32:53] His grace. And in through Christ. I pray that you would ponder. That self surrender. Is indeed a fitting. Response. May that characterize us.

[33:04] As we continue our march. In this season. Let me pray. Lord. We love you. And we thank you. For your goodness to us.

[33:15] Thank you for. This snapshot. That we see. Lord. Where. These. Old Testament. Promises. Are alluded to.

[33:27] And it's Mary's son. The one that would come. From her. And come. Through her. Oh God. That would step into them. And fulfill them. And Mary said yes.

[33:39] To you. In that way. I pray. Oh God. That those of us. Who know you. And love you. Who have been recipients. Of your grace. Lord.

[33:50] Like Roz. Respond. Lord. With an attitude. And lives. And hearts. Of self surrender. May that be our posture. May it be so. For each one of us.

[34:00] This day. We pray these things. In Christ's name. Amen. Amen. God. God.