WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.700 Good morning, everyone. Great to see you. If you don't know me, my name's Dan. I serve as an elder 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:12.040 here at Watermark Church. Thanks for coming and joining us on this crisp Sunday morning here in 00:00:12.040 --> 00:00:19.420 Hong Kong. I thought I'd just start out having a little thought process. I wonder if you have any 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:26.960 favorite books or movies in your life that you've read, you've watched them over and over again, 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:32.100 you're so familiar with them that you know them. You know them really well. If someone asked you 00:00:32.100 --> 00:00:40.820 about it, you don't even have to think about it. You can just close your eyes and recount all of 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:47.460 the details. You don't have to look on your phone or anything like that. But I wonder if you've ever 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:52.439 had the experience with that book or that movie that you know really well, where one day you're 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:58.019 reading it or you're watching it and you notice a new detail to it, something you haven't seen before. 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:06.340 And yeah, it really casts that thing that you thought you knew so well in a new light, in a 00:01:06.340 --> 00:01:14.120 different way. The story becomes alive. It becomes fresh again for you. As our two daughters get older, 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:20.299 we're slowly introducing them to the world of movies. Given they're five and three and they're 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:27.000 girls. Naturally, we've started looking at the Disney princess movies first. And so... 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:37.120 Julie's shaking her head. Sorry, Julie. So we are watching them first, evaluating them, 00:01:37.199 --> 00:01:41.859 and then deciding whether they're appropriate to put in front of the girls. So notwithstanding 00:01:41.859 --> 00:01:46.959 probably the slightly unusual image of a middle-aged man sitting up late at night when everyone's fast 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:53.579 asleep, whiskey in hand, belting out, let it go with Elsa. It's been a really interesting 00:01:53.579 --> 00:01:57.899 experience for us. I think that there have been some movies that we actually thought were 00:01:57.899 --> 00:02:04.419 appropriate for them that upon watching them again are not. And even more interestingly, 00:02:05.060 --> 00:02:10.159 vice versa. Some movies that we thought were not appropriate are actually okay to watch. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:15.780 I don't know if you guys are familiar with Cinderella. Cinderella is one of these movies 00:02:15.780 --> 00:02:20.519 that we've watched. Growing up, I was pretty familiar with the story, actually. My parents 00:02:20.519 --> 00:02:26.359 had all the Disney movies. But to be honest, I thought Cinderella was just a bit of an airhead, 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:32.840 actually. Traditional, blonde-haired, blue-eyed princess. Sole purpose in life was to marry a prince. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:37.400 It's not really the kind of messaging that I wanted to put in front of the girls at a young age. 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:45.040 So we watched it again. And actually, my opinion has changed. Cinderella is actually a really kind-hearted 00:02:45.040 --> 00:02:53.620 person. She's had a really bad luck in life through some terrible circumstances, through her father 00:02:53.620 --> 00:02:57.759 passing away, and then some really oppressive circumstances in her life. We're not going to go 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:04.040 into all the detail. But just to say that, I don't know if you guys actually know, she didn't even, 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:09.519 when she went to the Royal Ball, she wasn't going with any intention of marrying anyone. 00:03:10.519 --> 00:03:14.359 She didn't even know she had met the prince when she had to rush back home at midnight, 00:03:14.899 --> 00:03:23.319 before her carriage turned into a pumpkin. So, you know, these little details shed the story in a 00:03:23.319 --> 00:03:29.680 completely new light for me. And as an aside, they've been added to our allowable set of movies for the 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:38.099 girls. I wonder if it's a similar thing when it comes to today's story. The angel Gabriel appearing 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:46.100 to Mary and announcing Jesus' birth through her miraculous conception and pregnancy. We read it 00:03:46.100 --> 00:03:51.879 every year at Christmastime. We can probably recall the main plot line. We've become so familiar with the 00:03:51.879 --> 00:03:59.919 story that we know it. I don't know if you have the next slides. That we know it. But I wonder, 00:04:00.740 --> 00:04:08.159 no, there's a picture of Mary and Gamble here. Boom. Thank you. But I wonder if that familiarity has 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:14.639 also meant that we have missed the rich significance that is contained in the text. The insight into God's 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:21.500 character, into Mary's amazing submission, and the beauty of Jesus, our King. That was certainly the 00:04:21.500 --> 00:04:27.259 case for me. And I've been humbled and challenged in my prep for today's sermon. So let's read and 00:04:27.259 --> 00:04:32.459 let's listen carefully. That we too would see the deeper gospel glories that are in store for us in 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:37.079 God's word today. Let me pray for us, and then I'll have EJ come up and read the scripture. 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:49.480 Father, I just ask that your Holy Spirit would be at work now during this time, helping to lift our eyes 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:56.420 up from our own day-to-day circumstances, as important as they might be. But we want to see 00:04:56.420 --> 00:05:01.500 something that's even more important, something that goes above our own lives, our own circumstances, 00:05:02.220 --> 00:05:09.280 that is baked into the history of the world and the history of mankind. And is your great love for us 00:05:09.280 --> 00:05:14.319 in your son, Jesus. Help us to see Jesus. Help us to see God. Help us to see Mary and her example 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:20.759 in a new light today, that we would love you more and know you more. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:39.360 Let us read the gospel words together. Today's passage will be Luke's chapter 1, 26 to 38. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:43.480 You can follow it on with the screen or with your own Bible. 00:05:46.280 --> 00:05:49.520 Luke chapter 1, 26 to 38. 00:05:50.280 --> 00:05:56.620 In the sixth month of the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:04.580 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name 00:06:04.579 --> 00:06:14.300 was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was 00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:21.500 greatly troubled at the same, and tried to discern what sort of greetings it might be. And the angel 00:06:21.500 --> 00:06:31.639 said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:41.620 in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and be called the 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:49.279 Son of Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:57.300 over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there will be no end. And Mary said to the 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:05.960 Gabriel, How will this be, since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come 00:07:05.960 --> 00:07:12.939 upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child will be born, 00:07:13.340 --> 00:07:22.379 will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:29.899 son. And there is the sixth month with her who was called barren, for nothing will be impossible 00:07:29.899 --> 00:07:38.759 with God. And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to according to your word. 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:43.819 And the angel departed from her. This is the word of the Lord. 00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:47.399 Thank you, EJ. 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:57.339 So today we'll be looking at three main themes from the text. The nature of God, the nature of Mary, 00:07:57.699 --> 00:08:04.500 and the nature of Jesus. We will firstly see a God who is faithful to his promise and fulfills it in a 00:08:04.500 --> 00:08:12.000 very surprising way. His Son, the King, worthy of our worship and surrender, and the most blessed 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:18.939 woman Mary, who models so well what that surrender looks like. It's a message that calls us to 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:25.819 surrender to Jesus, for he is our eternal King. We'll firstly look at the nature of God. We only 00:08:25.819 --> 00:08:31.259 have 13 verses today, much less than our previous sermons in 2 Samuel. So we have the luxury of 00:08:31.259 --> 00:08:34.440 repeating them again. So I'll do that for us. We'll look at the first four verses. 00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:40.379 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:46.179 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's 00:08:46.179 --> 00:08:51.639 name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one. The Lord is with you. 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:56.700 But she was greatly troubled at the same, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:02.159 And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:08.839 Okay. When reading scripture, it can be easy to focus on the more exciting detail. I mean, 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:16.779 this is pretty wild stuff. Angel to Virgin Mary. Hello, Mary. How's it going? Please relax. God likes 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:23.019 you. He's got your back. As Neil mentioned last week at the start of the book, the author Luke makes 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:29.919 it clear his intention in his book. He wants us to have certainty concerning the life and mission of 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:35.919 Jesus. In order to achieve this, he's taken time to carefully investigate, speak to eyewitnesses, 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:42.099 compile an orderly and detailed account for us. There is a lot to be gained, actually, from the 00:09:42.099 --> 00:09:47.479 seemingly less interesting detail. We're not going to go over all the detail, but what definitely 00:09:47.479 --> 00:09:54.339 warrants a closer look is when Luke says that the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of 00:09:54.340 --> 00:10:02.080 Galilee named Nazareth. Yes, God has sent one of the few named angels in the Bible. That's eyebrow 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:09.259 raising enough. But what of the location to which he is sent? Nazareth in Galilee. For the original 00:10:09.259 --> 00:10:16.600 readers, this would have been an astounding detail, actually. Nazareth in Galilee? In chapter one of the 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:23.860 book of John, when encouraged by his friends to meet Jesus, who was said to be from Nazareth, 00:10:23.860 --> 00:10:31.580 the eventual disciple Nathaniel says, can anything good come out of Nazareth? For upright Jews, 00:10:32.060 --> 00:10:38.080 the town had absolutely nothing to offer. It was despised, even. It was a small, corrupt town, 00:10:38.560 --> 00:10:46.840 overrun with Roman soldiers and Gentiles, a mongrel population. It was never mentioned in the Old 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:52.399 Testament, Nazareth specifically, and it's basically never mentioned in any other historical accounts. 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:58.319 Most readers would have expected Jerusalem, where the temple was, the most holy place in Israel, 00:10:58.679 --> 00:11:04.399 to be the place of his most significant announcement. Or at least somewhere in the region of Judea, 00:11:05.079 --> 00:11:10.559 the heartland of God's work throughout much of Israel's history. Galilee was a nowhere region. 00:11:11.139 --> 00:11:17.220 Nazareth was a nothing town. God chose a nothing town in the middle of a nowhere region. 00:11:17.220 --> 00:11:26.460 And what of Mary? An early teenager at best, 12 to 14 years old. A poor peasant girl, a maid. Illiterate, 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:32.879 likely living in the most humble of circumstances, of houses. She was betrothed, but she wasn't married. 00:11:34.019 --> 00:11:42.660 And a virgin. Mary was a nobody. What about at least someone more worthy? Perhaps from the family of the 00:11:42.659 --> 00:11:49.240 line of priests back in Jerusalem? Someone with standing? Someone more believable? Someone more 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:57.219 appropriate? No. The greatest news in Israel's history was proclaimed in the most humble of 00:11:57.219 --> 00:12:05.379 situations. A nobody with no standing in a nondescript house in a nothing town in the middle 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:15.259 of nowhere. Why did God choose to do it this way? To those who know a little bit about God's character, 00:12:15.740 --> 00:12:20.159 it may actually not be that surprising. Firstly, and we're going to skim over this quickly, 00:12:20.620 --> 00:12:25.980 but God is faithful to his promises. He said he would do this already. In Isaiah chapter 9, 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:28.759 one of the prophecies about Jesus, it says, 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:33.759 but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, 00:12:34.439 --> 00:12:41.700 Galilee of the nations. Secondly, and more importantly, God is faithful to his nature. 00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:47.819 He has always chosen the most unlikely people to be involved in his greatest of works. 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:55.559 David, the runt of the family, shepherd boy, chosen by God to be Israel's greatest king. 00:12:55.559 --> 00:13:02.819 Gideon, the weakest in the family, in the weakest clan, chosen by God to rescue the Israelites from 00:13:02.819 --> 00:13:10.559 the hand of the Midianites. Rahab, a despised foreign prostitute. Ruth, a poor, penniless foreign 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:17.619 widow. Both women chosen by God as heroines of the Christian faith, contributing to the very line of 00:13:17.620 --> 00:13:27.019 Jesus himself. Time and time again, over status, over achievement, or wealth, or intelligence, or strength, 00:13:27.100 --> 00:13:35.539 or anything else that the world elevates and exalts, God's eyes are elsewhere. It is poverty in spirit, 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:44.799 humility, that God exalts, because it rightly places God as sovereign, as necessary, as worthy. 00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:49.139 God looks at our heart. Psalm 51 says, 00:13:50.039 --> 00:13:55.719 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it. You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:03.159 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 00:14:04.319 --> 00:14:10.120 I wonder how much easier it is for someone of lower standing in life to be keenly aware of their need 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:16.600 for God. Being poor or lowly in society can practically lead to greater dependency on things 00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:22.720 outside of ourselves, including God. Being dependent on God can lead to a greater awareness of God's 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:28.080 providence and blessing for the things we have in our life. And being more aware of God's blessing 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:35.519 renders our heart more and more towards Him. We will look at it next week, but Mary herself displays 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:40.480 this in her song of praise later in chapter 1, giving God praise and glory for His favour, 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:47.460 despite her humble circumstances. Watermark Church. I think it's fair to say that we're a pretty well 00:14:47.460 --> 00:14:54.059 educated, pretty well-to-do church. This is not something to feel bad about, something not to pursue. 00:14:55.059 --> 00:15:01.480 But this passage also serves as a spotlight, as a stern warning that those things the world tells us 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:06.060 are important, God clearly tells us are actually not that important to Him. 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:14.340 Where are we ultimately putting our hope and our identity in? Our finances? Our education? 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:23.720 Our health? Our children? Our status? Or in our God, who is infinitely richer, wiser, and loftier in status 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:32.540 than we will ever be? And so we come to Mary, the nature of Mary. Again, let's dive into the text. 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:40.519 And Mary said from verse 34 to 38, if you have it in front of you, or up on the screen. 00:15:41.440 --> 00:15:43.540 Sorry, it's not up on the screen, if you have it in front of you. 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:50.040 And Mary said to the angel, how will this be, since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:55.179 the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:02.039 Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, your relative 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:07.879 Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived the Son. And this is the sixth month with her who was 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:14.879 called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God. And Mary said, behold, I am the servant of 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:22.980 the Lord. Let it be according to your word. And the angel departed from her. Young, poor, illiterate 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:30.220 Mary, going about her daily tasks, and suddenly, bam! Literally the archangel Gabriel appears. 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:35.279 Greetings, O favored one. The Lord is with you. I mean, it's something straight out of a movie. 00:16:35.700 --> 00:16:40.899 Probably not Cinderella, but another more exciting action movie. I don't know if you've ever encountered 00:16:40.899 --> 00:16:46.519 an angel before. I personally haven't, but I imagine it would be quite a powerful experience. 00:16:47.259 --> 00:16:53.899 The two encounters before and after with the same angel Gabriel, firstly with Zechariah, 00:16:53.980 --> 00:16:58.480 which we heard about last week in the temple, and later on the shepherds tending their flocks 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:06.980 in chapter 3, result in immediate responses of great fear. Remarkably though, while it does say 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:12.920 that Mary was troubled in verse 29, and the angel Gabriel comforted her, it doesn't say that she 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:19.279 was overcome with fear. It says actually that she tried to discern what kind of greeting this might be. 00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:28.120 Despite her societal standing, Mary was no skittish young pushover. Just earlier, Zechariah responded 00:17:28.120 --> 00:17:33.860 in doubt and unbelief when faced with a similar, even lesser message for John the Baptist. 00:17:33.859 --> 00:17:41.759 Mary here is confused, but seems thoughtful and expectant. She asks, how will this be? She is 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:46.959 accepting of what is going to happen, but still needs to understand how. She's a virgin after all, 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:54.619 and she is betrothed to Joseph, not yet married. A pregnancy at this stage has the risk of bringing 00:17:54.619 --> 00:18:02.500 extreme shame onto her family, onto her and her family. The angel then goes to shock her even further 00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:08.359 if that wasn't enough, by saying that this baby would be conceived by the very Holy Spirit of God. 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:15.359 Two quick asides here. Firstly, this is not some sort of weird paranormal sexual experience. 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:21.460 Hovering over was similar language. It was similar to the language used at Pentecost, when the tongues 00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:28.240 of fire hovered over the disciples. It is just a picture of God doing the miraculous, what only God can do. 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:35.960 Secondly, we often can be tempted to dismiss this story as fantasy. People back then were uneducated. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:41.620 They were gullible. They were likely to believe anything. But Mary initially reacted actually 00:18:41.620 --> 00:18:48.740 quite similarly to someone today we would expect to react. But I'm a virgin, she says. That's not how 00:18:48.740 --> 00:18:55.900 babies work. Though she was illiterate, she would have heard the Old Testament in the synagogue as a 00:18:55.900 --> 00:19:02.519 child. Mary must have started to be getting a clearer picture at this stage that this child was 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:08.200 actually the coming Messiah. She may even by this time have recalled a prophecy in Isaiah 7. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:15.320 I'm not going to read the whole thing, but it's another prophecy about Jesus. It says, 00:19:15.319 --> 00:19:21.480 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:29.700 and call his name Emmanuel. Either way, what reaction would you have had in Mary's situation? 00:19:29.919 --> 00:19:38.359 If you were Mary, Gabriel, I get your message, but I'm too young. I'm betrothed to Joseph. I am just 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:44.579 a peasant girl. No thanks. That wouldn't be unreasonable, right? I mean, even though she 00:19:44.579 --> 00:19:50.879 may have intellectually known, she still has to apply her own circumstances to the prophecy. There 00:19:50.879 --> 00:19:58.759 is a huge personal risk and potential shame in taking that step of faith. But how does Mary react? 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:00.899 Verse 38 says, 00:20:00.899 --> 00:20:01.919 And Mary said, 00:20:02.139 --> 00:20:07.699 Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your words. 00:20:09.159 --> 00:20:15.879 Mary displays surrender and submission. Amazing surrender and submission. Mary submits to the 00:20:15.879 --> 00:20:22.539 message of God through the angel Gabriel. She says, Let it be according to your word. Mary's humble 00:20:22.539 --> 00:20:29.740 heart, her faith, and the surrender that comes from that are a model for us. Don't we struggle with 00:20:29.740 --> 00:20:35.399 this so often? Don't I struggle with this so often? Stepping out in faith, especially when it may come 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:41.519 with a potential cost. Maybe it's as simple, and I know this is the case for me, as the Spirit's 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:46.700 prompting to share our faith with a friend, with a colleague, with someone we meet. We're unsure of 00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:53.320 their reaction. I shy away from it so many times. We're happy to believe God's word intellectually and 00:20:53.320 --> 00:21:00.640 who God is intellectually until it potentially negatively impacts our life. We may also be thinking, 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:06.740 Mary's submission is all well and good, but she saw an angel. I mean, come on. If I saw an angel, 00:21:07.100 --> 00:21:14.840 I might be more inclined to react in the same way, maybe. But actually, if we stop and think about it, 00:21:14.839 --> 00:21:22.619 we have far more amazing communication from God than Mary did at the time. Mary did have the Old 00:21:22.619 --> 00:21:28.139 Testament. She couldn't read it, but she would have heard it. We have the entirety of God's word, 00:21:28.679 --> 00:21:35.119 the whole Bible, where so much more is communicated to us about Jesus. And we can read it. We can study 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:44.119 it for ourselves. We even have the Holy Spirit, the helper, who shines light on the scriptures. 00:21:44.119 --> 00:21:52.059 And gives us wisdom and understanding, opens the eyes of our heart. So what does God's word and the Holy 00:21:52.059 --> 00:22:00.119 Spirit reveal to us exactly that allows us to respond in faith and humility to God, just as Mary did? 00:22:01.539 --> 00:22:06.079 Well, there are many things, of course, but there is one main thing, which brings us to our third and 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:13.899 final section, the nature of Jesus. Right in the middle of this story is the object of Mary's 00:22:13.899 --> 00:22:20.359 submission and ultimately the object of ours. In verses 31 to 35, we read, 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:27.359 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:34.159 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne 00:22:34.159 --> 00:22:40.259 of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will 00:22:40.259 --> 00:22:47.619 be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I'm a virgin? And the angel answered her, 00:22:47.619 --> 00:22:52.399 The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. 00:22:53.099 --> 00:22:58.919 Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. The Son of God. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:04.599 We will spend the remainder of our time in these verses. Of all the passages we're actually going to 00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:10.079 look at in this Advent period, apart from Christmas Day, of course, these are the only verses that 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:17.599 directly describe Jesus and who he is. A book I read previously introduced me to the concept of 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:22.259 pleasure stacking. I don't know if you've ever heard this term before. I like it. It involves 00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:30.439 incorporating as many things as you like and love to do in a single event, in a continuous period of 00:23:30.439 --> 00:23:36.799 time, in a single event or experience. So for me, it would probably involve exercising in the morning, 00:23:37.179 --> 00:23:42.839 going to the gym for a hike, going for a swim, something like that, having a nice brunch with my 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:51.019 wife, washing it down with an ice cold beer, taking a nap, getting up from the nap. Very hedonistic. 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:57.759 And then spending some quality time with our family in the evening, preferably not watching 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:05.259 Cinderella. We've seen that far too many times. Using these few verses, what I'd actually like to do 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:12.039 is to pleasure stack and enjoy the amazing truths that we have revealed to us about Jesus here. 00:24:13.180 --> 00:24:22.619 Firstly, Jesus is human. Jesus is fully human. He's as human as it gets. He was born a baby. He grew 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:29.599 into a child, then a young man, and died a physical death, just like all of us will one day. He experienced 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:38.339 tiredness, stress, temptations, physical pain, just like all of us. He understands what being human is like, 00:24:38.719 --> 00:24:45.500 and the struggles that are associated. For those of us here that are feeling downcast, unworthy, struggling 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:52.000 with the pressures of the world, it's not a simple thing. I'm not saying that. But do take heart. Jesus sees you. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:25:00.839 He understands you and what you're going through. Secondly, Jesus is salvation. Jesus's name literally 00:25:00.839 --> 00:25:08.940 means the Lord saves, or the Lord is salvation. Jesus is needed. He is the most needed. All the 00:25:08.940 --> 00:25:16.079 amazing qualities we're considering may be exciting and awe-inspiring for us, but Jesus's mission was 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:22.960 actually to seek and save the lost. Without the heart of Jesus for us, as is implied in his name, 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:28.240 we're merely left with a person who may be actually indifferent to our day-to-day lives. 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:33.119 But we can go to him, not just because he is human and he knows what we're going through, 00:25:34.359 --> 00:25:40.299 but because he cares for us. He wants to save us. He wants us to come to him for salvation. 00:25:40.299 --> 00:25:50.940 But how can we do this with any confidence if he is just a temporary human? Which brings us to the next point. 00:25:51.480 --> 00:26:01.379 Jesus is our forever king. In the prophecy of 2 Samuel 7, we see another prophecy about Jesus. We see, 00:26:02.139 --> 00:26:06.919 and I will give you rest from all your enemies. In verse 11 and verse 12 goes on to say, 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:13.200 I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:18.820 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:24.820 Verse 16, and your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:32.160 Your throne shall be established forever. Jesus is the forever king. It's quite obvious, I think, 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:38.800 to see the linkages from this passage to today's passage in Luke. Jesus is the fulfillment of this 00:26:38.800 --> 00:26:46.980 prophecy for a king. Verse 27, Joseph is of the house of David. Verse 32 in Luke, the Lord will give 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:52.840 to him the throne of his father David. And you know what? We see an even more important word 00:26:52.840 --> 00:26:59.120 that comes shortly after, forever. As we have seen in our previous sermon series, 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:07.000 David's reign was actually relatively short-lived. Jesus' reign is forever. He is the coming Messiah 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:14.799 to whom all Israel was looking towards. A king who was God's son, and whose kingdom is established by God 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:23.159 forever. And what will this kingdom bring exactly? Well, in 2 Samuel 7, chapter 11, it says, 00:27:23.259 --> 00:27:28.639 and I will give you rest from all your enemies. That's what this kingdom is bringing, rest. 00:27:29.119 --> 00:27:36.719 In David's day, it was rest from Israel's physical enemies. For us, Jesus brings rest from our greatest 00:27:36.719 --> 00:27:45.639 enemy, sin. That wages war against all of humanity. He did it by his death on the cross and resurrection 00:27:45.639 --> 00:27:53.599 three days later. His kingdom's reign and rest for anyone who accepts and follows Jesus will last forever. 00:27:53.599 --> 00:28:03.919 Lastly, Jesus is holy and divine. In verse 35, I might just read it up off the screen. 00:28:04.419 --> 00:28:11.639 The child to be born will be called holy, the son of God. You may still have a logical question here 00:28:11.639 --> 00:28:19.000 about Jesus. How could this kingdom be able to last forever? He's a human, right? Well, actually, 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:26.619 Jesus is also fully divine. John chapter 1 describes Jesus as the Word. In the beginning was the Word, 00:28:26.940 --> 00:28:33.740 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:40.319 through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. It's a bit easier to read in the NIV 00:28:40.319 --> 00:28:47.399 translation, actually. It's a tongue twister. Interesting that Mary herself says in verse 38 00:28:47.399 --> 00:28:54.679 that she submits according to God's Word. Jesus was there at the beginning of time. He will be there 00:28:54.679 --> 00:29:01.319 at the end of time. He is currently in and through everything that we have in this life. He has a special 00:29:01.319 --> 00:29:11.179 relationship with God. He's the representation of God. He is the divine Son of God. Jesus' divine nature 00:29:11.179 --> 00:29:18.960 also necessitates that he is holy, fully set apart from us in every way, and for a specific and unique 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:26.460 purpose, to seek and save the lost. He is utterly blameless, utterly sinless, the perfect embodiment of a 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:36.019 godly character and life. That's a lot of information, okay? But let me summarize it for that. Let us 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:43.759 bask in what we've just pleasure stacked about Jesus, okay? To summarize, Jesus is the most human, 00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:53.380 divine, eternal King. He is the only way to salvation. There is none like him, ever, past, present, 00:29:53.380 --> 00:30:01.180 or future. He is the only one worthy of our worship and surrender. He has done everything he can, and 00:30:01.180 --> 00:30:14.040 he's pleading to us to come to him, to surrender to him. As we conclude, I have two things for us to 00:30:14.040 --> 00:30:22.840 consider, actually. The first is a question. Do you know Jesus is your eternal King? Do you submit to him? 00:30:23.380 --> 00:30:31.840 And worship him as Mary did, because of who he is? And if not, why? I'm not going to spend too much time 00:30:31.840 --> 00:30:38.040 unpacking that question, but I just want to say, as we've seen in these verses, the Bible says that 00:30:38.040 --> 00:30:45.680 that's the only option, actually. Jesus is your only eternal King. You need to submit to him and 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:55.320 worship him, as we all do, because of who he is. The second is to urge us to take some time out this 00:30:55.320 --> 00:31:01.019 week, perhaps, for those of us who are Christian, and even if we haven't made that decision yet in 00:31:01.019 --> 00:31:07.660 our lives, to reflect on who Jesus is, as described in these verses. To chew on it, to bask in it. 00:31:07.660 --> 00:31:15.000 It's quite a simple application, but as you do that, ask yourself, is there one area of your life 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:20.180 in particular where you are not submitting to God's word right now? Where you perhaps lack faith, 00:31:20.460 --> 00:31:26.740 you don't believe who Jesus is. You're struggling to see the rest that is promised as part of his 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:32.380 kingdom and his kingship. As you answer this question, perhaps you'll have a conversation with 00:31:32.380 --> 00:31:39.000 a friend. Confess that to a friend, and vice versa. Have them confess something to you. Pray together 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:45.900 these few verses over yourselves about who Jesus is. Pray that by the power of the Spirit, the truth 00:31:45.900 --> 00:31:50.460 about who Jesus is would capture your heart and lead you to repentance and submission. 00:31:52.200 --> 00:31:56.720 I was tossing up whether to include this example or not, because for many of you, you've heard it over 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:01.800 and over again. It's a bit of a broken record, but it's been blessing me in so many ways that I just 00:32:01.799 --> 00:32:09.740 can't help talking about it. I've been on sabbatical for the last six months. Before this period, I was 00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:17.159 idolizing my work. I was worshiping it. I had placed it above Jesus as the number one priority in my life. 00:32:18.279 --> 00:32:26.200 And it was slowly and surely destroying everything in my life. My relationship with God, my marriage, 00:32:26.200 --> 00:32:36.120 my relationship with my kids, my health, etc. Work was my king, not Jesus. And instead of bringing the rest 00:32:36.120 --> 00:32:44.559 of Jesus's eternal kingdom, I was weighed down by the kingdom of the world, which was bringing a never-ending 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:53.200 burden of stress. Sense of burden and stress. Yeah. God gave me many, many signs, actually, 00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:59.100 that I was going down the wrong path. He was making it very obvious to me. But I was still so entrapped in 00:32:59.100 --> 00:33:04.860 that worship of work that I was still justifying staying in work, giving myself over to it. 00:33:06.360 --> 00:33:11.900 Ultimately, in his grace, he broke through with his word, a passage from the book of Exodus that 00:33:11.900 --> 00:33:17.220 convicted me that he would provide me and my family exactly what we need when we needed it. And I could 00:33:17.220 --> 00:33:22.360 trust him and take the step of faith. I'm not saying I'm anywhere near as faithful as Mary. 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:27.859 Even in my head at the time of making the decision to go on sabbatical, there was a part of me weighing 00:33:27.859 --> 00:33:35.139 up the potential cost and risk and shame of making such a decision. But by ultimately submitting to 00:33:35.139 --> 00:33:44.179 God's word and surrendering to his plans, God brought the exact opposite of risk and shame and cost. 00:33:44.180 --> 00:33:54.640 It has brought victory and peace and rest in my life. It is far from perfect and it has not come with its 00:33:54.640 --> 00:34:01.620 own struggles. But my relationship with God, my marriage, with my kids, my health, I can honestly 00:34:01.620 --> 00:34:07.480 say have never been better. And it's not because of me. It's because of the grace of Christ. All God's grace 00:34:07.480 --> 00:34:15.380 through King Jesus. Perhaps for you it's not work. Perhaps it's finances where you're holding on to far more 00:34:15.380 --> 00:34:21.340 than you need. Finding it hard to be generous, whether it be to the work of the church or to other people in need. 00:34:22.099 --> 00:34:28.659 You try to control it for yourself because you just don't trust that Jesus' kingdom will last forever and it's worth 00:34:28.659 --> 00:34:35.399 investing in. Perhaps it's a particular area of sin in your life that you just can't shake, that you're ashamed 00:34:35.399 --> 00:34:42.460 of. Or you don't believe the value to bring into the light and repent. You try to fix it yourself 00:34:42.460 --> 00:34:48.179 because in part you don't believe that Jesus is truly human and understands what you're going through 00:34:48.179 --> 00:34:56.500 and understands you. Perhaps you often feel prompted to share your faith with others as I was sharing earlier. 00:34:56.500 --> 00:35:01.780 But shy away at the last minute because of the fear of what's going to happen if they don't react well. 00:35:02.599 --> 00:35:09.219 In that moment your heart turns away from Jesus. It hides. Justifies itself in self-protection. 00:35:11.039 --> 00:35:16.500 You know the irony is that the very person we are not submitting to Jesus in those moments 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:23.360 so that we can control the risk, engineer our rest, protect ourselves from shame, 00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:30.200 is the only person that brings us the freedom and vindication and rest in those areas. 00:35:32.900 --> 00:35:36.660 I wonder if there's been anything new today in this familiar story. 00:35:37.820 --> 00:35:42.079 Whether it be about the God who is faithful to his promise and nature, 00:35:43.420 --> 00:35:44.960 exalting the lowly and humble. 00:35:45.660 --> 00:35:48.340 Whether it be Mary's amazing example of submission. 00:35:48.340 --> 00:35:51.220 Or whether it be about Jesus. 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:55.160 The most human, divine, eternal king. 00:35:56.000 --> 00:35:58.200 He is the only way to salvation. 00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:01.340 He is the only one to give us true rest. 00:36:02.140 --> 00:36:05.800 There is none like him ever, past, present or future. 00:36:06.720 --> 00:36:10.019 He is the only one worthy of our worship and surrender. 00:36:11.019 --> 00:36:13.240 Let me pray and give praise to Jesus. 00:36:13.240 --> 00:36:13.400 Jesus. 00:36:13.400 --> 00:36:13.420 Let me pray and give praise to Jesus. 00:36:18.340 --> 00:36:25.519 Father, God, thank you for your word. 00:36:26.500 --> 00:36:32.500 Thank you most of all for your son Jesus, whom we can read about, who we can learn about. 00:36:33.300 --> 00:36:36.100 I pray for your Holy Spirit to be at work in our heart. 00:36:37.240 --> 00:36:39.700 Reminding us of the glories of who Jesus is. 00:36:41.160 --> 00:36:44.680 Helping us to open the eyes of our heart to see who he is. 00:36:44.679 --> 00:36:47.299 To have that melt away. 00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:51.799 Whatever sin, whatever pride, whatever is in the way of us coming to you. 00:36:51.899 --> 00:36:54.799 Whether we've been Christians for many years. 00:36:54.859 --> 00:36:57.019 Or whether we haven't made that step of faith yet. 00:36:57.659 --> 00:37:00.500 Father, would you draw us closer to you. 00:37:01.139 --> 00:37:04.159 Because of a greater understanding and love for who Jesus is. 00:37:04.739 --> 00:37:05.539 In his name I pray. 00:37:05.980 --> 00:37:06.259 Amen. 00:37:06.259 --> 00:37:06.399 Amen.