WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.040 If you could turn back to Luke chapter 1, that would be a great help, page 855. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:16.240 If you head to central London, if you go to Oxford Street or Regent Street in April, 00:00:16.240 --> 00:00:25.120 ! What you'll find is shops and traffic and crowds of people that make the pavements slow going. 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:34.000 If you go at the minute, you'll get yourself immersed in a sky full of stars display featuring 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:40.240 thousands of bright stars floating above the iconic shopping area. I was there recently, 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:47.900 and the whole place feels totally different from the norm. It's the same across the city in all kinds 00:00:47.900 --> 00:00:53.280 of locations at this time of year. Christmas decorations have brought a seasonal transformation. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:58.880 Take Kew Gardens. If you were to go to Kew Gardens in, say, June, there's lots of grass, 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:04.280 there's some trees, there's some exotic plants, and there's a greenhouse. If you go this month, 00:01:04.960 --> 00:01:10.439 you'll see, quote, three kilometers of enchanting illuminations featuring over 20 dazzling 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:15.780 installations, including some cherished favorites and exciting new displays. Stroll through glittering 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:21.680 tunnels, admire vibrant lakeside reflections, and marvel at trees gleaming with dual-toned lights. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:30.640 It's a botanical world brimming with seasonal sparkle. All over the place, at this time of year, 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:38.460 ordinary settings are transformed by something extraordinary into places of beauty and light. 00:01:38.459 --> 00:01:46.719 And when we go back to the first Christmas, as we did last week and as we are doing again this morning, 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:54.859 we discover that this combination of the ordinary and the extraordinary actually lies at the very heart 00:01:54.859 --> 00:02:00.259 of Christmas. It lies at the heart of the whole story. Christmas is all about the extraordinary 00:02:00.259 --> 00:02:06.739 breaking into the ordinary. That's certainly the point that Luke is making in the passage that we're 00:02:06.739 --> 00:02:12.819 looking at this morning. So our first point this morning is this. Christmas comes to the ordinary. 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:19.759 Christmas comes to the ordinary. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:25.019 Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:32.500 and the virgin's name was Mary. So where's it all taking place? Nazareth. It's the Nazareth in 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:38.419 Galilee in case there was any misunderstanding or confusion. And that Nazareth is an ordinary place 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:43.719 if ever there was one. It says city here in the ESV translation because the Greek word, there is no 00:02:43.719 --> 00:02:51.120 Greek word for village in this sense. This is a rural backwater on a road between two seaports. 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:59.500 It's a place so insignificant that when people discovered it was going to be the promised birth 00:02:59.500 --> 00:03:07.620 place of God's Messiah, it was said with surprise, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Nazareth? 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:13.980 The backwater of backwaters? Surely if God was going to do something significant in the world, 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:18.920 he would do it in a significant place like Jerusalem, the great city at the center of his purposes. 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:27.459 No, no, he chose Galilee. Galilee was a place held in the highest content by Jews, and not just 00:03:27.459 --> 00:03:35.179 Galilee, but the unremarkable little backwater called Nazareth. Well, that's the place. Then we 00:03:35.179 --> 00:03:43.159 have Mary. Do you see initially she's just referred to as a virgin, verse 27. A point Luke repeats in 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:48.899 verse 28 and verse 34. Now this will be a big deal, but initially all that tells us is that she 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:55.579 is an insignificant woman. She's probably in her teens. She's got no husband. She's got no children, 00:03:55.579 --> 00:04:03.179 and in that culture that meant that she had no status. She is betrothed. That is, she is legally 00:04:03.179 --> 00:04:09.139 pledged to be married, but in case we think that this will elevate her status in some way, her fiancé, 00:04:09.219 --> 00:04:15.919 we're told, is hardly royalty. She's not Meghan Markle. He's just ordinary old Joe Davidson. 00:04:15.919 --> 00:04:22.819 Do you see that? That's what verse 27 tells us. Joseph from the family line of David. He's Joe 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:31.879 Davidson. It's an ordinary place. It's an ordinary girl, and he's an ordinary man. There is nothing, 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:39.120 nothing remarkable about this situation at all, and yet it is the starting point for some of the 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:46.060 most extraordinary events in the history of the world. Here's the thing. Christmas tells us that 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:55.579 God meets us in the ordinary. By calling Mary, God shows interest in, he shows his care for, his grace 00:04:55.579 --> 00:05:04.899 to the ordinary, the unimpressive, the weak, and the poor. This is very important. So much of what drives 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:09.739 our world comes from our quest, the quest for significance that agitates in the human heart, 00:05:10.359 --> 00:05:14.479 the desire that we would be somebody, that we would be great, that people would look at us and think, 00:05:14.579 --> 00:05:21.019 there is a great person. There is an impressive person. We seek to look impressive and sound 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:27.379 impressive. We just want to be impressive, because by being impressive, we earn favor in the world. 00:05:27.919 --> 00:05:34.379 How do we get ahead in the world? We do so by being impressive. We're drawn to impressive people. 00:05:34.899 --> 00:05:39.399 We talk about the fact that we know impressive people. We talk about how wealthy they are, 00:05:39.479 --> 00:05:44.459 how well-known they are, or how many jolly followers they have on social media. 00:05:46.339 --> 00:05:51.319 And we seek to appear that way. Is that not what one of the great things of social media is? 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:56.859 About presenting yourself in such a way that you look impressive, that people will be drawn to you. 00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:02.620 Now, what invariably happens is we think, well, if that's the way we are, and if that is the way the 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:10.579 world that we live in is, well, surely God probably feels the same. So God must be on the lookout for 00:06:10.579 --> 00:06:20.300 impressive people as well. That's not the case. God meets ordinary people in their ordinary lives 00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:25.139 doing ordinary things. This is one of the very important messages that we mustn't skip over about 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:33.519 that first Christmas. You do not need to be anything more than ordinary to receive the favor of God. 00:06:35.099 --> 00:06:39.759 Our culture has created a kind of rat race where in order to be accepted, you have to speak and act 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:44.219 in certain ways. It's the same with every in-group. There are all kinds of different in-groups in the 00:06:44.219 --> 00:06:48.979 culture, but every single one of them has a way that we have to behave, a way that we have to perform 00:06:48.980 --> 00:06:54.460 in order to be accepted. The language we use, the clothes we wear, the people that we mix with. 00:06:56.340 --> 00:07:00.300 God doesn't require you to be anything other than ordinary. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:06.580 Perhaps you need to hear this this morning. You need to be reminded of this for your own sake, 00:07:07.140 --> 00:07:13.840 because you feel that pressure to be impressive. You feel that driving you on, and you're trying 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:19.719 desperately hard to be the kind of person that the in-crowd would choose to accept. You've set your 00:07:19.719 --> 00:07:25.139 sights on belonging to that group, and you desperately want to be there, and it is a punishing treadmill 00:07:25.139 --> 00:07:29.099 of achievement that you feel that you need to make in order to be accepted. 00:07:32.419 --> 00:07:38.259 You also recognize that perhaps there is a degree of acceptance in the crowd that you're happy in, 00:07:38.259 --> 00:07:43.579 but you know that you're faking it. You know that you're putting it on to some degree, 00:07:44.139 --> 00:07:49.319 because you know underneath it all you're really pretty ordinary. Here's the thing you need to know. 00:07:49.379 --> 00:07:56.920 It's not that way with God. Whatever your state, you do not need to pretend with Him. 00:07:58.659 --> 00:08:02.899 In fact, it would be the height of folly to do so, because He knows exactly what you're like. 00:08:02.899 --> 00:08:07.019 He knows that in the end, all of us are very ordinary. 00:08:09.139 --> 00:08:14.779 God sees you as you are, and He cares for you as you are. 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:23.379 Perhaps you also need to hear this for the sake of others. You look around at other people around you, 00:08:23.979 --> 00:08:27.719 whether it's your family or your friends or your church family here, 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:34.000 and if you're honest, there's something in you that thinks they're not as together as you'd like them to be. 00:08:34.800 --> 00:08:40.200 They're not really as impressive as you'd like them to be. They certainly don't measure up to your standard, 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:44.420 and you maybe don't say it, but inwardly, quietly, you're thinking this. 00:08:45.220 --> 00:08:47.139 There's a little bit of you that looks down on them. 00:08:49.379 --> 00:08:53.160 Well, whoever they are, you need to be reminded of this fact that whoever they are, 00:08:53.159 --> 00:08:59.139 they don't need to be any more than that in order to please God. 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:07.879 Don't despise the lowly things, because God is gracious to the lowly. 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:14.199 Don't seek to be anything other than lowly yourself, 00:09:14.500 --> 00:09:21.059 because God is only gracious to those who humble themselves and are lowly. 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:30.199 The point is that Christmas tells us that no one needs to miss out on what God is doing. 00:09:31.579 --> 00:09:39.439 Christmas tells us that God is coming into the ordinary for you, for me, 00:09:40.359 --> 00:09:43.899 and for those that society ignores and looks down on. 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:53.699 But he does come into the ordinary in an extraordinary way. 00:09:54.439 --> 00:09:55.439 That's our second point. 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:58.959 Christmas involves the extraordinary. 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:05.019 Christmas comes to the ordinary, point one. 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:07.299 Point two, Christmas involves the extraordinary. 00:10:07.299 --> 00:10:11.339 First off, God sends Gabriel as his spokesman. 00:10:11.459 --> 00:10:13.479 Imagine what that must have been like for Mary. 00:10:14.539 --> 00:10:18.079 There she is in all her ordinariness, in her ordinary place, doing ordinary things, 00:10:18.199 --> 00:10:24.439 and the radiant glory of the angelic being comes to her and then speaks to her. 00:10:24.859 --> 00:10:27.179 This isn't your average afternoon in backwatersville, 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.159 but there are two particular bits of the story that I want to highlight. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:34.439 The first is this, God's extraordinary promise. 00:10:35.439 --> 00:10:36.539 The extraordinary promise. 00:10:36.539 --> 00:10:40.699 See, Gabriel speaks into Mary's day to announce that God has chosen her. 00:10:41.279 --> 00:10:42.659 She will receive his grace. 00:10:43.419 --> 00:10:46.699 And to be clear, just to be clear, she is the object of his grace. 00:10:46.819 --> 00:10:48.000 She is not the source of it. 00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:53.899 Mary has no grace in herself, only the grace that she receives from God. 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:57.120 But understandably, Mary is unsure of what is going on. 00:10:57.179 --> 00:10:59.539 29, she was greatly troubled at the saying 00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:03.240 and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 00:11:03.240 --> 00:11:05.240 And the angel said to her, 00:11:05.299 --> 00:11:08.039 Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 00:11:08.440 --> 00:11:11.240 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:13.000 and you shall call his name Jesus. 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:17.399 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. 00:11:18.200 --> 00:11:21.000 And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 00:11:21.060 --> 00:11:23.039 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:25.980 and of his kingdom there will be no end. 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:32.100 God promises Mary a son, a son who will be called Jesus. 00:11:32.580 --> 00:11:34.420 Jesus means the Lord is salvation, 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:36.779 which actually wasn't an unusual name at the time. 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:38.879 The thunderbolt really comes in verse 32. 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:39.420 Can you see? 00:11:39.779 --> 00:11:43.820 This child will be great and son of the Most High. 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:48.680 This is an extraordinary promise about an extraordinary child. 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:50.460 Great, when it's used like this, 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:52.039 when it's used through the Old Testament, 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:55.279 it usually always refers to God himself. 00:11:57.219 --> 00:11:59.579 And Son of the Most High is a kingly title, 00:12:00.539 --> 00:12:02.419 rather like his royal highness. 00:12:04.599 --> 00:12:08.159 And then when Mary is told that her son will be given the throne of his father David 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:10.199 and reign over the house of Jacob forever, 00:12:10.579 --> 00:12:13.139 it is clear that she was going to bear the king 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:15.379 that the people of God have been anticipating. 00:12:15.379 --> 00:12:19.259 The king that we talked about, 00:12:19.740 --> 00:12:21.860 that was promised right back in Genesis 3, 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:26.340 that we got more of a profile of in Isaiah 11, 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:29.179 the one who was coming and would be such a threat 00:12:29.179 --> 00:12:32.840 to the prevailing culture of the day. 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:34.519 We saw that last time. 00:12:36.279 --> 00:12:37.179 Here is the king, 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:39.539 descended of David through Joseph. 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:42.459 He will be the divine son, 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:46.639 an extraordinary promise about an extraordinary child. 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:47.779 The son of the Most High, 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:50.039 his royal highest of highnesses. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:51.899 These are the titles bestowed on him. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.339 He is the one who rules and reigns with matchless power. 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:58.740 When we see people with significant power around us, 00:12:58.819 --> 00:12:59.740 it frightens us. 00:13:01.459 --> 00:13:02.899 When somebody is powerful, 00:13:03.259 --> 00:13:05.019 that power frightens us. 00:13:05.079 --> 00:13:07.860 And there's plenty of anxiety across the Western world at the moment 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:09.820 because there are people in our world 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:11.139 who hold a lot of power 00:13:11.139 --> 00:13:13.940 who appear to be fairly unpredictable, if we're honest, 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:18.500 and who appear to use that power 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.139 in unhealthy and destructive ways. 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:22.720 Yet, there isn't a political leader in the world 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:25.240 who has the sort of power that Jesus has. 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:28.340 His power is ultimate. 00:13:30.659 --> 00:13:32.000 Again, you think about that here 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:33.519 as one with ultimate power in the world. 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:34.680 Is that not a bit scary, 00:13:34.800 --> 00:13:35.639 given what we've seen 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:37.200 and how we see people use power? 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:40.120 Well, don't forget his name. 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.379 Jesus' supreme power shouldn't cause us to fear 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:44.980 because his name reminds us 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:47.560 that he uses his power for the good of others. 00:13:47.820 --> 00:13:48.700 He is the Savior. 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:52.180 Jesus, God, is our salvation. 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:54.019 He will be born. 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:55.500 He will live. 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:57.340 And ultimately, he will die 00:13:57.340 --> 00:14:00.500 in order to rescue men and women from their sin. 00:14:00.580 --> 00:14:01.440 He is our Savior. 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:07.140 The extraordinary promise of Christmas 00:14:07.140 --> 00:14:08.960 is that the one born to Mary 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:12.260 is the divine Son who comes to save. 00:14:12.780 --> 00:14:14.080 Let me ask you this morning, 00:14:14.460 --> 00:14:15.380 do you know him? 00:14:16.780 --> 00:14:17.780 Do you know him? 00:14:18.280 --> 00:14:20.040 Do you know the divine King 00:14:20.040 --> 00:14:22.180 who came at Christmas in order to save? 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:26.260 He has come into the ordinariness of this world 00:14:26.259 --> 00:14:28.600 and the ordinariness of your life 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:31.039 as the Lord of all the earth, 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:33.639 but he has done this to bring salvation. 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:38.240 Have you turned from your sin, 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:40.519 your rejection of God in his world? 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:41.799 Have you turned from your sin 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:43.259 and accepted his kingly rule? 00:14:43.259 --> 00:14:47.460 Christmas promises us that if we do this, 00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:48.379 he will save us 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:50.460 and he will reconcile us to God. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:52.319 If you haven't done that this morning, 00:14:52.439 --> 00:14:53.779 let me encourage you to do it. 00:14:54.519 --> 00:14:55.879 You can do it even where you sit. 00:14:57.340 --> 00:14:59.059 Will you turn and submit your life 00:14:59.059 --> 00:15:01.519 to Christ's kingly rule 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.659 and receive his salvation? 00:15:07.819 --> 00:15:09.259 The way the story is written, 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:11.980 we are supposed to sniff a problem at this point. 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:15.080 This extraordinary promise. 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:15.860 There is a problem. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.379 The fact that Mary is a virgin is underlined. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:20.159 It's mentioned twice in verse 27. 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:24.360 So her question in verse 34 makes sense, doesn't it? 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:25.460 Mary said to the angel, 00:15:26.100 --> 00:15:27.519 how will this be? 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:29.840 I'm going to bear a son. 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:30.759 How will this be? 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:32.240 Since I am a virgin. 00:15:33.840 --> 00:15:35.559 We all know how babies are born. 00:15:36.319 --> 00:15:38.340 So the reality is, 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:40.840 how on earth is this extraordinary promise going to happen? 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:44.960 Well, here's the second extraordinary aspect of the story. 00:15:45.060 --> 00:15:48.620 The angel explains God's extraordinary power, 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:50.620 his extraordinary power. 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:51.780 And the angel said to her, 00:15:52.740 --> 00:15:54.220 the Holy Spirit will come upon you 00:15:54.220 --> 00:15:56.160 and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. 00:15:56.280 --> 00:15:58.660 Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, 00:15:59.160 --> 00:16:00.040 the Son of God. 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:03.379 How will a virgin conceive? 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:05.440 The Holy Spirit will do it. 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:09.220 The power of the Most High will overshadow her. 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:13.360 Now, this whole idea of virgin conceiving, 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:14.940 it messes with our categories. 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:16.180 But the reality is, 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:17.500 if we think and stop for a moment 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:20.220 and think about the wider biblical picture, 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:21.440 this actually makes sense. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.400 If God was going to act in this way, 00:16:24.520 --> 00:16:26.720 of course it would come in this way. 00:16:26.940 --> 00:16:28.800 This has always been how God works. 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:30.700 The Spirit was there at creation 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:33.500 and he overshadowed the waters of the earth, 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:34.720 Genesis 1 verse 2. 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:36.440 He was there at the Exodus 00:16:36.440 --> 00:16:38.200 when he overshadowed the tabernacle 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:41.320 in the glory cloud in Exodus 40 verse 34. 00:16:42.280 --> 00:16:45.220 He will overshadow Jesus' anointing for his ministry. 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:46.700 It is by the Holy Spirit 00:16:46.700 --> 00:16:48.759 that Jesus makes atonement for sins, 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:49.879 Hebrews 9 verse 14. 00:16:50.460 --> 00:16:51.520 It is by the Holy Spirit 00:16:51.520 --> 00:16:53.440 that he was raised from the dead, 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:55.080 Romans 1 verse 4. 00:16:55.940 --> 00:16:56.980 It was the Holy Spirit 00:16:56.980 --> 00:16:59.020 who Jesus sent to overshadow the church, 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:00.720 Acts 1 verse 8. 00:17:02.079 --> 00:17:04.099 And it is that same Holy Spirit 00:17:04.099 --> 00:17:05.740 who animates the lives of every Christian 00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:06.879 to enable us to live, 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:10.579 to live for Christ in obedience today. 00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:14.379 God the Holy Spirit 00:17:14.379 --> 00:17:17.039 has been overshadowing God's people 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:19.680 and God's plan from the very start. 00:17:21.819 --> 00:17:23.599 But this extraordinary miracle 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:24.799 is one of a kind. 00:17:26.379 --> 00:17:28.139 Luke is describing and recording for us 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:29.400 the historical reality 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:31.220 of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:33.560 This is a miracle. 00:17:35.220 --> 00:17:36.020 The incarnation, 00:17:36.220 --> 00:17:38.040 that is God taking on a human nature, 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:39.620 is a foundational truth 00:17:39.620 --> 00:17:41.500 that Christians have always confessed. 00:17:41.600 --> 00:17:43.420 We did only a few moments earlier together. 00:17:43.740 --> 00:17:45.580 He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:47.440 born of the Virgin Mary. 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:49.960 Theologically, 00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:51.160 it is essential that 00:17:51.160 --> 00:17:54.160 if Jesus will be a fit redeemer for the world, 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:56.040 if he will be a suitable savior 00:17:56.040 --> 00:17:57.860 as he's been promised to be, 00:17:58.180 --> 00:17:59.620 he must be both fully human 00:17:59.620 --> 00:18:01.240 and fully divine. 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:03.340 So for Jesus to be a man, 00:18:03.540 --> 00:18:04.900 he had to be born of a woman. 00:18:05.440 --> 00:18:07.560 But if he had been conceived by Joseph 00:18:07.560 --> 00:18:08.480 the regular way, 00:18:08.560 --> 00:18:10.300 he would have been nothing more than a man. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:12.880 For him to be sinless and divine, 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.120 he needed to be conceived by the Holy Spirit. 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:18.259 That's why it happens this way. 00:18:18.259 --> 00:18:21.960 God's power working in Mary's womb 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:24.460 is inescapably miraculous. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:26.119 We are unashamed of that. 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:28.839 Now I say that 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:30.980 and recognize that this may indeed be the point 00:18:30.980 --> 00:18:31.960 at which you depart 00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:34.599 from the Christian faith. 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:36.180 You leave us at that point. 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:38.319 You like all the stuff that we say 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.480 about Jesus being the sort of person that he is, 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.379 but the way he came into the world, 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:42.859 you think, 00:18:43.059 --> 00:18:44.940 I can't have it. 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:47.240 I don't mind his teaching. 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:49.279 He's an impressive leader for sure. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:51.039 I can accept perhaps 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.359 that he even spoke for God, 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:54.559 but you struggle to accept that he is God. 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:56.940 And that as Mary and Joseph 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:58.500 looked into the manger, 00:18:58.660 --> 00:19:00.019 they were looking into the face 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:02.480 of the eternal son of God most high. 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:05.180 You struggle with the idea 00:19:05.180 --> 00:19:06.880 of virgin conception. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:09.099 Well, let me say, 00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:10.220 if your starting point is 00:19:10.220 --> 00:19:11.160 that there is no God, 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:11.920 as some will say, 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.579 then the question of God becoming man 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.480 in a way is irrelevant. 00:19:15.299 --> 00:19:16.279 If there is no God, 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:17.700 then he couldn't have been born as a baby, 00:19:17.879 --> 00:19:18.319 obviously. 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:21.160 But if your starting point 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:23.960 is that there is or even could be a God 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:25.440 who, as Christians believe, 00:19:25.579 --> 00:19:26.700 created the universe, 00:19:27.299 --> 00:19:28.960 then surely, 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:30.720 if that's the case conceptually, 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:33.359 he is capable of entering that universe. 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:37.740 So why would we be surprised 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:39.579 that he can do what he wants to do 00:19:39.579 --> 00:19:41.679 in the world that he has made? 00:19:42.679 --> 00:19:43.899 One author says this, 00:19:43.900 --> 00:19:46.120 In the last century or so, 00:19:46.220 --> 00:19:47.220 humanity has worked out 00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:48.460 how to bring about conception 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:49.860 without sexual intercourse. 00:19:50.540 --> 00:19:51.380 A hundred years ago, 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:53.200 that idea would have seemed impossible 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:54.960 and not worthy of being believed. 00:19:55.600 --> 00:19:57.300 Now it seems plausible and obvious. 00:19:58.060 --> 00:20:00.280 If doctors can do it in their way, 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:01.840 do we really want to say 00:20:01.840 --> 00:20:03.500 that God can't do it in his? 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:05.600 God the Son, 00:20:06.180 --> 00:20:07.360 being born of a virgin, 00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:08.200 is a mystery 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:10.080 that we will never fully understand, 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:12.240 but not being able to understand 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:13.740 how God became one of us 00:20:13.740 --> 00:20:14.960 is not proof 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.159 that he did not become one of us. 00:20:20.240 --> 00:20:21.619 The Bible's answer is 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:23.980 that the extraordinary power of God 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:25.799 is what is at work in Mary's womb. 00:20:29.500 --> 00:20:30.879 In truth, I think that 00:20:30.879 --> 00:20:32.319 the discussion about this, 00:20:32.399 --> 00:20:33.019 the controversy, 00:20:33.139 --> 00:20:34.019 if you want to call it that, 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:35.220 about this question, 00:20:35.639 --> 00:20:37.299 whether Jesus was conceived or not 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:38.539 without a human father, 00:20:38.539 --> 00:20:41.039 I think the controversy is there 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:41.720 because deep down 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:43.200 we don't want to accept the implications. 00:20:44.980 --> 00:20:46.240 We don't like the fact 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:48.339 that he is the Son of the Most High. 00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:49.299 As we said last week, 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:50.839 we are threatened by a king 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:53.859 who can claim complete authority over us 00:20:53.859 --> 00:20:56.180 and demand our complete allegiance. 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:58.059 At a time in our culture 00:20:58.059 --> 00:21:00.960 when individual autonomy 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:03.019 and freedom 00:21:03.019 --> 00:21:05.359 is about the most cardinal virtue there is, 00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:07.460 the idea that there is one 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:08.779 who was born into the world 00:21:08.779 --> 00:21:10.340 who has authority over us, 00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:12.000 whether we like it or not, 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:14.559 is an idea that we just can't stomach. 00:21:16.100 --> 00:21:16.880 As a culture, 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:18.120 we're drunk on the idea 00:21:18.120 --> 00:21:19.019 of personal freedom. 00:21:19.860 --> 00:21:20.779 Anything or anyone 00:21:20.779 --> 00:21:22.240 who stands in the way of me 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:23.019 having the right 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:23.960 to be free to choose 00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:25.319 to do whatever I want to do 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:26.019 with my life, 00:21:27.019 --> 00:21:28.880 that person should be resisted 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:29.940 or rejected. 00:21:29.940 --> 00:21:33.279 But here's the thing. 00:21:35.100 --> 00:21:36.120 What if the one 00:21:36.120 --> 00:21:37.559 who is calling you 00:21:37.559 --> 00:21:38.860 to curtail that freedom 00:21:38.860 --> 00:21:41.140 actually has the authority, 00:21:41.320 --> 00:21:42.059 legitimate authority, 00:21:42.059 --> 00:21:42.880 to do that 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.840 and they know what's best for us? 00:21:48.340 --> 00:21:50.320 And the way that they demonstrate 00:21:50.320 --> 00:21:51.519 their complete control, 00:21:51.640 --> 00:21:53.180 the authority that they have, 00:21:53.180 --> 00:21:56.960 is by entering the womb 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:58.600 of an ordinary girl 00:21:58.600 --> 00:22:01.160 in order to serve us. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:04.400 Christian story, you see, 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:05.180 tells us that 00:22:05.180 --> 00:22:07.140 the God who made the world 00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:08.000 entered his world 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:09.240 not first to punish 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:10.320 those who were rebelling 00:22:10.320 --> 00:22:10.860 against him 00:22:10.860 --> 00:22:11.600 but to save. 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:14.600 Jesus, born of a virgin, 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:16.220 in order to fulfill his name, 00:22:16.320 --> 00:22:17.560 the Lord saves. 00:22:17.559 --> 00:22:22.679 God's extraordinary power 00:22:22.679 --> 00:22:23.519 at work in Mary 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:25.480 will conceive this unique son. 00:22:27.059 --> 00:22:28.539 And while Mary's head is spinning, 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:31.059 while she's trying to get her head 00:22:31.059 --> 00:22:32.399 around this whole craziness, 00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:35.559 Gabriel mentions her cousin Elizabeth 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:36.839 and how she has got on 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:38.839 in this supernatural childbirth thing as well. 00:22:38.940 --> 00:22:39.899 Look at verse 36. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:40.399 And behold, 00:22:40.899 --> 00:22:41.879 your relative Elizabeth 00:22:41.879 --> 00:22:43.179 in her old age 00:22:43.179 --> 00:22:44.700 has also conceived a son. 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:46.460 And this is the sixth month 00:22:46.460 --> 00:22:48.180 with her who was called barren. 00:22:48.620 --> 00:22:49.519 A barren womb 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:50.940 or a virgin womb? 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:52.200 It doesn't really matter. 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:52.720 Why? 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:53.660 Verse 37. 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:56.000 For nothing will be impossible 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:57.120 with God. 00:22:59.640 --> 00:23:00.740 Into the ordinary, 00:23:01.340 --> 00:23:04.259 God brings an extraordinary promise 00:23:04.259 --> 00:23:06.299 that will be brought about 00:23:06.299 --> 00:23:08.640 through his extraordinary power. 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:11.200 The question for all is, 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:12.620 the question for you, 00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:13.640 the question for me is, 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:15.360 how will we respond to this news? 00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:17.140 What will we do 00:23:17.140 --> 00:23:17.940 with this information? 00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:18.660 You can say, 00:23:19.140 --> 00:23:19.640 yeah, yeah, 00:23:19.700 --> 00:23:20.819 another Christmas sermon 00:23:20.819 --> 00:23:22.160 and you can brush it off, 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:23.039 not think about it, 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:23.759 just throw yourself 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:24.500 into the busyness 00:23:24.500 --> 00:23:25.519 of the festive season 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:26.680 for another year. 00:23:28.480 --> 00:23:29.660 It's easy to do that. 00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:31.279 There's so much going on. 00:23:31.319 --> 00:23:31.980 We're so busy. 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:33.220 We've got so many commitments. 00:23:33.220 --> 00:23:35.900 I'll think about it. 00:23:35.900 --> 00:23:37.240 I'll think about that another time. 00:23:38.620 --> 00:23:40.180 Or you can do what Mary did. 00:23:40.259 --> 00:23:40.880 Verse 38. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:41.660 Mary said, 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.160 Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. 00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:45.319 Let it be to me 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:46.700 according to your word. 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:47.860 Let it be to me 00:23:47.860 --> 00:23:49.420 according to your word. 00:23:49.500 --> 00:23:50.360 She's not saying, 00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:51.819 ah, okay, 00:23:52.140 --> 00:23:52.960 I see what you mean. 00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:53.900 It's all clear. 00:23:55.500 --> 00:23:56.620 Nor is she saying, 00:23:57.420 --> 00:23:57.839 awesome. 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:00.459 I'm looking forward 00:24:00.459 --> 00:24:01.299 to explaining this 00:24:01.299 --> 00:24:01.980 to my fiance. 00:24:02.939 --> 00:24:04.000 And I'm really up 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:04.599 for the shame 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:05.559 that this is going to bring 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:06.119 in the culture 00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:07.319 and in the village. 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:09.379 She's not saying that. 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.699 She's saying this. 00:24:11.439 --> 00:24:13.139 It doesn't all make sense to me, 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:15.399 but I'm going to trust. 00:24:18.699 --> 00:24:19.720 Let it be to me 00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:21.119 according to your word. 00:24:21.919 --> 00:24:22.699 And for some of us, 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:23.759 that is what we need to do. 00:24:25.159 --> 00:24:25.799 Some of you, 00:24:25.879 --> 00:24:26.859 you're looking into Jesus, 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:28.179 but there's no dramatic moment 00:24:28.179 --> 00:24:29.399 of clarity or emotion. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.599 There's no amazing sense of joy, 00:24:32.159 --> 00:24:32.979 but you believe 00:24:32.979 --> 00:24:34.599 what you see here is true 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:37.159 and there's nowhere else to go. 00:24:39.659 --> 00:24:40.419 You haven't had 00:24:40.419 --> 00:24:41.479 all your questions answered. 00:24:42.679 --> 00:24:43.740 There's lots that you still 00:24:43.740 --> 00:24:44.500 need to work out, 00:24:44.599 --> 00:24:45.759 but you believe it's true 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:46.559 and you know 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:47.699 that there's nowhere else to go. 00:24:47.799 --> 00:24:48.559 You know that there is 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:49.399 only one Savior. 00:24:52.379 --> 00:24:53.299 And in that case, 00:24:53.339 --> 00:24:53.899 all you can do 00:24:53.899 --> 00:24:54.919 is what Mary does here. 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:56.659 Submit yourself 00:24:56.660 --> 00:24:57.680 in faith to God 00:24:57.680 --> 00:24:58.920 and to His ways. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:00.220 You turn away from your sin, 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:02.000 repent of your sin, 00:25:03.000 --> 00:25:04.400 and submit yourself to God. 00:25:05.880 --> 00:25:06.860 And open your Bible 00:25:06.860 --> 00:25:07.220 and say, 00:25:07.300 --> 00:25:07.840 I'm going to follow 00:25:07.840 --> 00:25:08.840 wherever it takes me, 00:25:08.900 --> 00:25:09.940 no matter what the cost. 00:25:13.160 --> 00:25:13.960 For some of us 00:25:13.960 --> 00:25:14.580 who've been Christians 00:25:14.580 --> 00:25:15.100 for a while, 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:16.460 we need to return to this 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:18.240 if we're honest with ourselves. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:21.460 let it be to me 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:23.299 according to your word. 00:25:25.299 --> 00:25:26.579 Our lives aren't going 00:25:26.579 --> 00:25:27.200 in the direction 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:27.880 that we thought 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:29.420 they would 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:30.599 or we wanted them to. 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:33.759 And things are difficult 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:36.579 and we doubt God's goodness 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:39.220 and we're worried 00:25:39.220 --> 00:25:40.339 about the consequences 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:41.680 of where He has us. 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:44.819 And we need to acknowledge 00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:46.240 the goodness 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:47.400 and the power of God 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:49.000 and simply trust Him. 00:25:50.039 --> 00:25:51.039 Despite our fears, 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:51.799 we need to say, 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:52.940 I am your servant. 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:54.980 I'm not anyone else's servant. 00:25:55.099 --> 00:25:56.000 I am your servant. 00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:57.500 Let it be to me 00:25:57.500 --> 00:25:59.599 according to your word. 00:25:59.599 --> 00:25:59.799 Lord, 00:26:00.399 --> 00:26:02.679 this first advent 00:26:02.679 --> 00:26:04.039 shows us a God 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:05.439 who comes into the ordinary 00:26:05.439 --> 00:26:07.659 in an extraordinary way. 00:26:08.419 --> 00:26:09.500 And He does that 00:26:09.500 --> 00:26:10.980 to transform the lives 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:11.839 of all 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.199 who will trust Him 00:26:13.199 --> 00:26:15.359 in the way that Mary does here. 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:17.439 Wherever you are this morning 00:26:17.439 --> 00:26:18.980 in your relationship 00:26:18.980 --> 00:26:19.879 to the Lord Jesus, 00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:21.319 the one who came at Christmas 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:22.139 to save 00:26:22.139 --> 00:26:24.059 and to reconcile us to God, 00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:24.839 wherever you are 00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:26.019 in your relationship to Him, 00:26:26.459 --> 00:26:27.439 Mary is our example. 00:26:27.579 --> 00:26:28.459 I am your servant. 00:26:28.460 --> 00:26:30.579 Let it be to me 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:33.160 according to your word. 00:26:33.600 --> 00:26:34.240 Let's pray.