WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.540 a short series, three sermons, about the first Christmas. 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:08.800 Wouldn't you love to be able to sit down with Mary, 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:12.640 just like we've seen in the video, and just to be able to talk to her? 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:15.540 And I want you to keep something in mind this morning. 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:17.800 I didn't say it in the first service, but I'll say it now. 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:23.400 This is Mary after she's had the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:00:23.400 --> 00:00:29.179 And you know that her perspective then would be different than it was beforehand, right? 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.600 And all of us, when we read the story, we read the story secondhand, 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.159 but we read it after the fact. 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:42.460 And when you look back on something and you tell somebody about something, 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:49.679 you see it in a different perspective than you did before it actually took place in your life. 00:00:50.179 --> 00:00:51.539 You understand what I'm saying in that? 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:53.400 Every event in life is that way. 00:00:53.480 --> 00:00:56.840 Once you've gone through it, you talk about it from a different perspective 00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:59.600 than you did before you went through it. 00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:04.120 Especially if it's a scary, frightening kind of experience in life. 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:05.140 There are things that you've endured. 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:08.260 In fact, those of you women in this room who've had babies, 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:12.599 you know it was different the second time than it was the first time, right? 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:15.620 Because you kind of knew what to anticipate. 00:01:16.240 --> 00:01:17.900 And you saw the outcome of it. 00:01:18.180 --> 00:01:20.939 And there's not that sense of fear, I wouldn't think, 00:01:21.420 --> 00:01:25.500 the second time, third time around that it was the first time around. 00:01:25.500 --> 00:01:30.480 And so this morning, we're going to look at this story from Mary's perspective. 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:37.260 I want you to listen in on a conversation that she had with an angelic being in Luke chapter 1. 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:42.240 If you have your Bible, turn there and look with me to Luke chapter 1 and verse 26. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:48.480 And while you're turning, let me just say to you that in this story, 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:54.520 the next story and the final story we'll see, we're going to be looking at two perspectives all the time. 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:01.219 Not years ago, but weeks and weeks ago, when I first preached here at Pickens, 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:02.400 I remember there was a sermon. 00:02:02.500 --> 00:02:03.719 I don't remember what it was about even. 00:02:04.219 --> 00:02:09.259 But I told you at that time that Paul warned us in Ephesians 6 00:02:09.259 --> 00:02:13.359 that there are two perspectives always going on in our life. 00:02:13.699 --> 00:02:20.319 One that we're very keenly aware of and one only occasionally we recognize. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:22.859 And he warns us it shouldn't be that way. 00:02:22.939 --> 00:02:24.319 He tells us in Ephesians 6, 00:02:24.859 --> 00:02:27.139 you're not struggling with flesh and blood, 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:30.759 but with principalities and powers in high places, right? 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:35.840 So what it says is there's a lower story and then there's the upper story. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:41.060 The upper story refers to what's going on in the heavens that's invisible to us that we don't see. 00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:43.920 But right this very minute is going on. 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:45.039 You understand it, right? 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:49.060 In the heavens right now, while we're down here on the earth worshiping the Lord, 00:02:49.620 --> 00:02:53.300 there are activities going on in heaven that God and the angels are aware of 00:02:53.300 --> 00:02:58.199 that you and I are completely unaware of unless they intervene in our lives somehow 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:01.039 and speak to us and make us keenly aware. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:05.620 This is one of those occasions where God sent an emissary, a messenger, 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:10.399 to speak to Mary prior to her becoming pregnant. 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:12.859 She's not pregnant at this point in time, 00:03:13.239 --> 00:03:20.299 but he's telling her as an engaged young woman about what is going to transpire in her life. 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:26.479 And so he's affording her a privilege of knowledge about that which is the upper story. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:32.459 But there's also the lower story that Mary has to deal with after this message is delivered 00:03:32.459 --> 00:03:35.099 and after what he says has come to pass, 00:03:35.500 --> 00:03:40.459 she's going to have to go out there and flesh it out with her mother and with her dad 00:03:40.459 --> 00:03:45.039 and with Joseph and with her friends and neighbors and the people of Nazareth. 00:03:45.179 --> 00:03:50.219 And so in the upper story, it's a glorious, jubilant story of celebration 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:53.859 because God is going to finally bring about this plan of redemption 00:03:53.860 --> 00:03:56.220 by entering our world as a human being. 00:03:56.480 --> 00:03:58.080 And the angels in heaven are parting. 00:03:58.200 --> 00:04:00.100 It's a time of great, great, great joy. 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:07.140 But on the lower level, man, it's a time of conflicted emotions. 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:12.760 There's joy that she feels, that any mother feels when she gives birth to a son or a daughter. 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:15.500 But there's also a lot of anxiety. 00:04:15.500 --> 00:04:24.000 She's 70 miles from home. 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:32.279 She's, in all likelihood, a teenager, young, middle-aged, older teenager. 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:33.399 We're not sure. 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:37.220 Probably 14 to 18 years of age. 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:40.339 She's never been married. 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:43.279 She's never been with a man. 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:48.679 She's having this baby with only Joseph at her side. 00:04:49.419 --> 00:04:52.139 She's not in a hospital, not in a medical clinic. 00:04:52.459 --> 00:04:53.699 There's no midwife there. 00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:55.399 She's all alone. 00:04:56.619 --> 00:05:05.459 And so you can imagine the questions, the bewilderment that's going on in her mind and heart 00:05:05.459 --> 00:05:12.719 and all the social abuse she has no doubt received to this point in time. 00:05:12.919 --> 00:05:17.819 Look with me to what Luke tells us in chapter 1 and verse 26. 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:21.779 In the sixth month, let me just stop there. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:25.659 That's not a reference to the calendar sixth month. 00:05:25.660 --> 00:05:31.800 He's not saying that this took place in what we would know as June 1st of July. 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:37.560 What he's telling us is it's six months from the time that Elizabeth got pregnant. 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:43.420 Now, Mary, as you're going to see in a minute, she doesn't even know Elizabeth is pregnant. 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:46.660 He doesn't mention her name at this point. 00:05:46.660 --> 00:05:49.360 But that's what Luke is alluding to. 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:51.000 Luke knows this as he's writing. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:57.340 So he says, in the sixth month, alluding to Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist. 00:05:58.080 --> 00:05:59.760 And then he goes on to say, 00:06:00.520 --> 00:06:07.080 The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth. 00:06:07.079 --> 00:06:11.839 Gabriel is one of the angels of God who uses, 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:17.180 he uses as an emissary to come and on occasion make great announcements. 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:20.659 He's going to speak in a dream to Joseph. 00:06:21.539 --> 00:06:26.839 He's going to speak to the shepherds in the last sermon we're going to see just before Christmas. 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:31.599 He's going to announce the birth of the Lord Jesus in the city of Bethlehem. 00:06:32.299 --> 00:06:35.759 And so we know that it's Gabriel who's sent to Mary. 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:36.959 And then he says, 00:06:37.039 --> 00:06:45.099 Now, I hope you get out more than the people do in the first service, okay? 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:47.599 Because when I ask this in the first service, 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:50.039 only two people raised their hand in the whole room. 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:52.879 How many of you have ever been to Royston, Georgia? 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:55.039 Good. 00:06:55.980 --> 00:06:57.399 Y'all have cars, right? 00:06:57.480 --> 00:06:58.000 I don't tell you. 00:06:58.199 --> 00:06:58.899 I'm just teasing. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:03.779 When I went to Royston for the first time in my life, 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:04.819 I was 20 years old. 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:06.819 I was a student at Anderson College. 00:07:07.459 --> 00:07:10.159 And this fellow who went to school with me, he was an older guy, 00:07:10.219 --> 00:07:14.599 and he was a pastor of a church down somewhere out in the country out of Royston, Georgia. 00:07:14.920 --> 00:07:15.319 He said, 00:07:15.379 --> 00:07:16.560 Ralph, would you come preach to me? 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:19.100 Well, there are only two things I remember about that occasion. 00:07:19.219 --> 00:07:23.339 One is these vultures were on this tiny little bridge on this road I had to cross, 00:07:23.459 --> 00:07:24.600 and they wouldn't get off the road. 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:27.639 And I was in a little Volkswagen and just had to wait for them to fly 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:29.600 because I was afraid to go through them, right? 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.580 The second thing I remember, though, is this. 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:36.060 When I came into the city limits of Royston, there was a sign there. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:37.300 How many of you know what I'm going to say? 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:38.820 Anybody here? 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:40.780 There you go. 00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:42.220 Home of Ty Cobb. 00:07:42.300 --> 00:07:44.040 I don't even know if that sign's still there. 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:45.180 It had him swinging a baseball bat. 00:07:45.520 --> 00:07:47.000 I was a huge baseball fan. 00:07:47.340 --> 00:07:51.060 Ty Cobb was one of the greatest guys to ever play the game of baseball, right? 00:07:51.060 --> 00:07:52.360 Let me tell you something. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:57.519 If you had gone to Nazareth, you wouldn't have seen a sign like that about anybody 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:02.480 because it was a small little sleepy town, 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:06.340 and nobody was known for having been from Nazareth. 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:15.720 That's why the Scripture tells us that Nazareth was a place that nothing good ever came out of, 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:18.019 as she said, even in the film. 00:08:18.019 --> 00:08:20.000 Look at verse 27. 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:23.879 To a virgin, this is who he's going to, 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.780 engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David, 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:30.420 the virgin's name was Mary. 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:36.720 And so what we read here is he's going to go see Mary, 00:08:37.059 --> 00:08:40.320 who is engaged to this man named Joseph. 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:44.559 Let's just stop and talk about that for a minute so you get the right picture. 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:49.700 You know all about engagement in our culture, the Western culture. 00:08:49.700 --> 00:08:56.520 In our culture, boy meets girl, boy asks girl to marry him, drops to one knee. 00:08:56.960 --> 00:08:58.100 She says, I do. 00:08:58.500 --> 00:08:59.900 He puts a ring on her finger. 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:01.600 They set a wedding date, right? 00:09:01.800 --> 00:09:02.720 You've been through that. 00:09:02.840 --> 00:09:06.240 You've seen that portrayed many, many times in movies and people you know. 00:09:06.420 --> 00:09:07.600 It's happened in your own life. 00:09:07.660 --> 00:09:11.220 Maybe not as dramatically as they make it appear on the movies all the time, 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:13.020 but that's basically how it goes. 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:15.180 Boy meets girl, asks girl to marry him. 00:09:15.280 --> 00:09:16.060 She says yes. 00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:16.900 He gives her a diamond. 00:09:16.899 --> 00:09:19.259 They set a date, they're married, right? 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:23.679 In biblical times and in many places in the world today, 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:26.000 in fact, I've got a friend who's got this kind of marriage, 00:09:26.459 --> 00:09:27.959 it's arranged by the parents. 00:09:29.100 --> 00:09:31.120 In fact, this friend of mine who's an Indian doctor, 00:09:31.699 --> 00:09:35.179 he's hoping to be able to arrange marriage for his children. 00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:38.659 And before you, you know, just dismiss that idea, 00:09:38.759 --> 00:09:40.720 I'll tell you, it works in a lot of cultures. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:43.439 We're a culture that doesn't do it that way, 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:45.120 but it doesn't mean it's a bad practice. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:50.580 And so Joseph, his parents had picked out Mary in all likelihood. 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:53.580 And Mary's parents had picked out Joseph, 00:09:54.060 --> 00:09:56.379 and they had come to some kind of agreement. 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:00.279 And when both parties, Mary and Joseph, and the parents had agreed, 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:04.139 we're going to be married, they became engaged. 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:07.820 And that engagement period, the best we can tell, 00:10:07.940 --> 00:10:11.220 lasted for exactly a year. 00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:16.200 During that time, they were considered by the people who knew them, 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:19.399 their parents and all their friends, to be married. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.800 They didn't think about them the way you and I think about engaged people today. 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:28.779 They saw them as being married, but living apart. 00:10:29.660 --> 00:10:32.639 She didn't enter his house, he didn't go to her house, 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:34.019 they didn't sleep together. 00:10:34.019 --> 00:10:37.740 There's nothing sexual, physical going on between these two. 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.100 But they're beginning to understand each other, 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:42.539 and growing fond of each other, 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:44.480 and developing a relationship with one another. 00:10:45.199 --> 00:10:47.460 And in the eyes of the world, they're married, 00:10:47.720 --> 00:10:50.879 but in reality, from our perspective, they're not. 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:53.579 So look back at what the Scripture says. 00:10:53.580 --> 00:11:01.900 He goes to see a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David. 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:05.520 The virgin's name was Mary. 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:10.820 Now, this word virgin, years ago when I was in college, 00:11:11.040 --> 00:11:13.800 a lot of the translations began to come out that time, 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:15.740 NIV and a host of others, 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.720 and there was great argument about this word. 00:11:19.400 --> 00:11:22.840 Some scholars argued this shouldn't be interpreted virgin, 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:24.580 it should be interpreted maiden. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.820 Because they argued that in other places, 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:31.879 the word was used to speak of someone who was a maiden who was unmarried, 00:11:32.180 --> 00:11:35.180 and in other texts, a maiden who was married. 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:38.540 But here we know clearly it's a foolish argument 00:11:38.540 --> 00:11:40.280 because of what we find in verse 34. 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:42.660 Mary asked the angel, 00:11:42.660 --> 00:11:46.379 How can this be since I have not been intimate with a man? 00:11:47.420 --> 00:11:52.180 Mary herself acknowledges that she is a virgin. 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.360 And Mary is the only one who knows, right? 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:01.139 And so it's clear that the interpreters have it right here 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:03.259 when they interpret this as virgin. 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:06.360 To a virgin whose name was Mary. 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:08.480 Look at verse 28. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:11.940 And the angel came to her and said, 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:16.800 Rejoice, favored woman, the Lord is with you. 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:19.699 Now I want you to hear what he's saying, 00:12:19.859 --> 00:12:21.319 but I want you to be careful about this. 00:12:22.099 --> 00:12:23.919 Don't overshoot the runway 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:28.120 as some of our Catholic friends at times have. 00:12:28.959 --> 00:12:32.659 What he says is precisely this and only this. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:36.479 Mary, you are blessed of women. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:39.279 Here's why she's blessed. 00:12:39.959 --> 00:12:44.579 She's blessed because God has favored you. 00:12:44.580 --> 00:12:47.360 He's not saying, 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:50.660 Mary, you're a perfect specimen of a woman. 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:52.780 He's not saying, 00:12:53.060 --> 00:12:55.460 Mary, you are absolutely without sin 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:58.060 and thereby, because of your worthiness, 00:12:58.220 --> 00:13:03.280 God has chosen you to bear His Son to our world. 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:06.540 He's not saying that in the least. 00:13:07.259 --> 00:13:08.480 What he's saying is this, 00:13:08.680 --> 00:13:10.740 Mary, you are very, very fortunate. 00:13:10.920 --> 00:13:12.340 You are blessed of God. 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:14.800 Now, did Mary feel blessed in the moment? 00:13:14.920 --> 00:13:15.540 I don't know. 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:18.160 I think part of her, 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:19.560 because she's speaking with an angel, 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:20.620 had to feel as though, 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:22.720 boy, there's something special about this moment. 00:13:23.300 --> 00:13:24.560 And I certainly am blessed of God. 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:25.680 He says I'm blessed of God. 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:27.200 There's no reason to doubt that. 00:13:27.980 --> 00:13:28.639 But I want to tell you something. 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:29.740 Before he gets through 00:13:29.740 --> 00:13:31.320 and before this conversation is over, 00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:32.600 she's going to be wondering, 00:13:32.800 --> 00:13:35.720 why in the world was I ever picked? 00:13:36.340 --> 00:13:38.200 Why has God chosen me 00:13:38.200 --> 00:13:41.560 for this station in life? 00:13:42.520 --> 00:13:44.240 So, is she a good woman? 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:46.280 There's no reason to believe she wasn't. 00:13:46.800 --> 00:13:48.080 Is she a godly woman? 00:13:48.460 --> 00:13:51.200 Again, I can't imagine she was not. 00:13:51.740 --> 00:13:54.220 But is she the best woman in Nazareth, 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:55.879 the best woman in Israel? 00:13:56.400 --> 00:13:57.560 There's not a trace of reason 00:13:57.560 --> 00:14:01.180 for us to necessarily reach that conclusion. 00:14:01.800 --> 00:14:03.280 Look at verse 28. 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:05.559 Verse 28 says, 00:14:06.439 --> 00:14:08.500 And the angel came to her and said, 00:14:08.699 --> 00:14:10.039 Rejoice, favored woman. 00:14:10.459 --> 00:14:12.360 The Lord is with you. 00:14:12.839 --> 00:14:15.419 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, 00:14:15.939 --> 00:14:19.059 wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:21.319 Well, that's understandable, isn't it? 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:24.199 Wouldn't you be perplexed and confused? 00:14:24.860 --> 00:14:27.179 And wouldn't you be asking a lot of questions? 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:30.179 In fact, if this weren't just a regular preaching service, 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:31.079 you know what I'd do right now? 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:33.300 I'd come down off this stage and walk through the audience 00:14:33.300 --> 00:14:35.600 and ask a lot of you, a lot of you ladies, 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:37.259 and even some of you girls in the audience, 00:14:37.620 --> 00:14:39.460 what do you think's going through her mind? 00:14:40.660 --> 00:14:42.379 Don't you think she's wondering, 00:14:43.300 --> 00:14:45.360 why are you talking to me about this? 00:14:46.040 --> 00:14:47.600 Why has God chosen me? 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.139 Listen, the pregnancy part hasn't even entered 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:51.259 the conversation yet. 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:54.379 You're aware of that because you know the rest of the story. 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:56.980 Like I said earlier, you're looking back on this, 00:14:57.300 --> 00:14:59.200 having the knowledge of what has already occurred. 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.320 But at this point, here's all she knows. 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:05.040 I'm just a little Jewish girl engaged with this guy named Joseph. 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:07.100 I've got plans for my life. 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:08.700 This angel shows up. 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:10.300 By the way, any of you ever talk to an angel? 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:12.640 I didn't think so, right? 00:15:13.900 --> 00:15:15.620 That's kind of cause for alarm. 00:15:16.340 --> 00:15:19.360 That's kind of cause for you to have a little bit of angst 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:22.200 and a little bit of concern and wonder what's going on. 00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:24.740 But you know this is an angel, and he says to you, 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:26.259 you are blessed of God. 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:28.159 You are favored of God. 00:15:28.319 --> 00:15:30.980 And she's wondering, why in the world is this occurring? 00:15:31.220 --> 00:15:32.819 And why is he talking to me like this? 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:34.439 And why have I been chosen? 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:37.220 And what have I been chosen for? 00:15:37.819 --> 00:15:40.039 What lies ahead for me? 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:41.679 Look at verse 30. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:47.460 Then the angel told her, don't be afraid, Mary. 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:49.559 If it were me, I'd have said too late. 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:53.019 I mean, already I'm afraid. 00:15:53.339 --> 00:15:56.679 For you have found favor with God. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:15:58.500 Don't be afraid. 00:15:59.559 --> 00:16:01.419 Understandable, the angel says that to her, right? 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:04.779 He can probably look in her face, and he can see some fear. 00:16:04.859 --> 00:16:06.199 He can see a little bit of anxiety. 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:07.279 He can see some concern. 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:08.779 Who wouldn't have that? 00:16:09.139 --> 00:16:11.319 Especially a teenage girl. 00:16:11.739 --> 00:16:12.479 Let me ask you something. 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:15.819 You ladies in this room, do you think differently as a 20-something 00:16:15.820 --> 00:16:16.920 than you did as a teen? 00:16:17.720 --> 00:16:21.000 Do you think differently as a 30-something, a 40-something, a 50-something 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:23.140 than you did as a teen? 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:27.920 It's hard for most of you in this room who are grown women in society 00:16:27.920 --> 00:16:31.900 to even go back in your mind and put yourself in the place 00:16:31.900 --> 00:16:34.000 of a 15-, 16-year-old girl, right? 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:38.460 Because your thinking is so evolved, and it is so changed through the years. 00:16:39.320 --> 00:16:43.640 So imagine, if you can, what one of your children or your grandchildren 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:48.019 that age would be thinking if they had this occurrence with this angel, 00:16:48.299 --> 00:16:50.659 and the angel says, boy, you are blessed of God. 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:51.659 God has favored you. 00:16:52.059 --> 00:16:53.699 God has chosen you. 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:56.439 Now he comes to the bombshell, verse 31. 00:16:57.199 --> 00:16:57.899 Now listen. 00:16:59.199 --> 00:17:00.559 You will conceive. 00:17:01.279 --> 00:17:03.120 Can you see her just hit the floor? 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:11.259 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. 00:17:11.259 --> 00:17:11.500 Jesus. 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:17.379 You're going to conceive, and you're going to have a baby boy, 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:21.440 and you're going to call this baby Jesus. 00:17:22.839 --> 00:17:26.319 Boy, I don't know what part of that would shock you the most, 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:28.240 that you're going to be pregnant. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:30.379 She's not really even married yet. 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:31.599 She's not living with a man. 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:36.359 And that you're going to have a boy, and here's the kicker, 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:39.160 his name is going to be Jesus. 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:43.560 Now Jesus is the Greek for the Hebrew Joshua. 00:17:44.360 --> 00:17:47.980 And every child growing up in Israel knew the name Joshua 00:17:47.980 --> 00:17:52.060 because Joshua was a great Israelite war hero. 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:54.680 Remember the story of Joshua and Caleb? 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:57.960 They're two of the 12 spies that go into Cajus Barnea. 00:17:58.100 --> 00:17:58.980 They spy out the land. 00:17:59.080 --> 00:18:00.560 They come back, and they give a good report. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.160 Boy, it's just as you said, Moses, just as God said, 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:04.900 we can go in and we can take this land. 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:07.680 The other 10 spies said, no, we're not able to. 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.640 They'll look at us as grasshoppers. 00:18:09.740 --> 00:18:10.700 They'll defeat us. 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:13.019 There's a big argument that ensues. 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:15.560 Moses says, you've disappointed God. 00:18:15.600 --> 00:18:16.500 You're going to be punished for that. 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:19.000 Now they rise up and say, let's go and take the land. 00:18:19.140 --> 00:18:20.640 Moses warned them, don't do that 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.720 because now God has changed his plan. 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:23.960 He's not going to give you the land. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:25.100 They go ahead anyway. 00:18:25.259 --> 00:18:26.940 They're soundly defeated, right? 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:32.860 So after 40 years of wandering, Moses dies, 00:18:33.120 --> 00:18:35.380 and guess who God brings to the forefront? 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:37.200 It's this man Joshua. 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:40.900 He becomes the commander of the Israeli forces. 00:18:41.100 --> 00:18:41.620 They go in. 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.779 They capture Jericho, and after that, all the other cities in the conquest, 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:47.580 and they settle in the land. 00:18:47.940 --> 00:18:49.299 So what he's saying is this. 00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:50.779 You're going to have a son. 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:52.840 This is a special son. 00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:55.620 He's going to be like Joshua. 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:59.899 Joshua, he's going to be a savior of his people. 00:19:00.659 --> 00:19:03.139 Now, don't think ahead too much 00:19:03.139 --> 00:19:06.599 because if you think she's thinking at this point 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:11.139 a spiritual savior to come and to save the humanity from its sins, 00:19:11.699 --> 00:19:13.179 you're just wrong. 00:19:14.139 --> 00:19:21.500 What she's thinking is he's going to be a military leader, commander like Joshua. 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:27.859 And just as Joshua drove the people out of the land and we settled in the land, 00:19:28.619 --> 00:19:33.299 he's going to drive the Romans who are occupying the land out of the land, 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:37.240 and we again will be free as Hebrew people. 00:19:38.019 --> 00:19:40.900 Well, look at the very next verse. 00:19:40.900 --> 00:19:42.860 Verse 32. 00:19:43.860 --> 00:19:47.720 He will be great and be called the son of the Most High. 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:48.980 Now things are changing. 00:19:49.700 --> 00:19:53.900 And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. 00:19:55.100 --> 00:19:56.600 Son of the Most High? 00:19:57.519 --> 00:19:59.580 Is he referring to a man here? 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.500 Or is he referring to something more than a man? 00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:04.580 What is this, the son of the Most High? 00:20:04.820 --> 00:20:08.240 And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:10.940 You know what she knows about Joseph? 00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:15.319 Joseph is of the house and lineage of David. 00:20:15.779 --> 00:20:19.880 And so as his stepfather, even though he's not the biological father, 00:20:20.460 --> 00:20:24.920 he's entitled then to the throne of David himself. 00:20:25.620 --> 00:20:26.620 Look at verse 33. 00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:30.480 And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, 00:20:30.920 --> 00:20:34.579 and his kingdom will have no end. 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:37.339 Now in her mind, it's confirmed. 00:20:37.339 --> 00:20:41.459 The Lord is going to allow her to be pregnant, 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:45.579 and she's going to be pregnant with this son 00:20:45.579 --> 00:20:48.139 who is of the house and lineage of David, 00:20:48.539 --> 00:20:50.000 and he will take the throne. 00:20:50.119 --> 00:20:51.699 He's going to drive the Romans out, 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:55.119 and there will never be an end of this kingdom. 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:57.139 Can I tell you something? 00:20:58.059 --> 00:21:00.379 That's not what the angel has in mind at all. 00:21:00.380 --> 00:21:07.960 What the angel has in mind is he's going to be the very son of God. 00:21:08.060 --> 00:21:09.460 He's going to come to that in just a moment. 00:21:10.340 --> 00:21:13.500 He's going to be the very son of God. 00:21:14.340 --> 00:21:17.360 And that's the reason when you study the Gospels, 00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:20.180 Mark doesn't mention the nativity at all. 00:21:20.700 --> 00:21:24.620 Matthew and Luke give us a nativity from the lower story, 00:21:24.619 --> 00:21:28.819 and John gives us the nativity from the upper story. 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:33.959 He doesn't even concern himself with the narrative of the birth of Jesus. 00:21:34.379 --> 00:21:36.500 This is what John says in John 1.1. 00:21:36.839 --> 00:21:39.819 In the beginning was the Word, 00:21:40.399 --> 00:21:42.099 and the Word was with God, 00:21:42.199 --> 00:21:43.639 and the Word was God. 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:46.239 And then it says in John 1.14, 00:21:46.239 --> 00:21:49.319 And the Word became flesh, and we beheld His glory, 00:21:49.459 --> 00:21:51.279 glories of the only begotten of the Father, 00:21:51.419 --> 00:21:53.539 full of grace and truth. 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:56.479 So what Gabriel is saying to her is, 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:00.959 you're literally going to bear the Son of God. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:04.299 Now, notice what she says, 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:07.779 and she's not even thinking yet about the Son of God. 00:22:09.019 --> 00:22:09.959 Verse 34, 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:11.559 Mary asked the angel, 00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:13.799 How can this be, 00:22:14.619 --> 00:22:17.619 since I have not been intimate with a man? 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:20.679 She's still thinking about Joseph. 00:22:21.639 --> 00:22:24.279 He's of the house and lineage of David, 00:22:24.619 --> 00:22:25.979 and so in her mind, 00:22:26.719 --> 00:22:28.479 how in the world can this be, 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:30.239 that I'm going to be pregnant, 00:22:30.479 --> 00:22:31.799 and all that's going to come about, 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:34.719 we haven't consummated our marriage yet. 00:22:35.719 --> 00:22:37.539 How in the world can this be? 00:22:37.679 --> 00:22:39.139 It just doesn't make sense. 00:22:39.879 --> 00:22:41.279 In the heavenly scene, 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:42.339 it makes perfect sense, 00:22:42.399 --> 00:22:44.079 because God is a God of miracles, right? 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:46.179 But in the lower story, 00:22:46.239 --> 00:22:47.839 what do we know in the lower story? 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:49.559 In the lower story, 00:22:49.639 --> 00:22:50.579 we know this, 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:52.539 the way you have babies, 00:22:52.740 --> 00:22:55.159 is a man and a woman come together. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.459 Unless a woman is with a man, 00:22:59.059 --> 00:23:01.019 it just doesn't happen, right? 00:23:02.199 --> 00:23:03.679 That's why we know, 00:23:04.399 --> 00:23:07.519 that Mary's going to endure horrible shame, 00:23:08.199 --> 00:23:10.459 and people are going to say terrible things about her, 00:23:10.859 --> 00:23:11.639 maliciously, 00:23:11.740 --> 00:23:12.439 that are wrong, 00:23:12.440 --> 00:23:15.580 because when she looks at her folks even and says, 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:17.240 I've never been with Joseph, 00:23:18.080 --> 00:23:18.860 they're going to believe her? 00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:22.740 When she says to her friends, 00:23:22.820 --> 00:23:23.480 and her neighbors, 00:23:23.860 --> 00:23:24.900 and her schoolmates, 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:26.620 I've never been with a man, 00:23:27.340 --> 00:23:28.180 and she's showing, 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:29.400 she's six months pregnant, 00:23:30.140 --> 00:23:31.019 are they going to believe her? 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:33.559 In fact, let me ask you this, 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:36.500 Joseph who knows he hasn't been with her, 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:38.000 he's the only one who knows that, 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:40.460 but Joseph knows, 00:23:41.160 --> 00:23:42.279 we've not been together. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.039 What is even Joseph going to think about Mary? 00:23:47.099 --> 00:23:49.240 Is she going to believe this story about an angel? 00:23:50.099 --> 00:23:54.539 You can imagine the hardship that she's about to have to endure. 00:23:55.740 --> 00:23:56.619 So Mary asked, 00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:59.380 how can this be since I've not been intimate with a man? 00:23:59.819 --> 00:24:00.440 Verse 35, 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:02.480 the angel replied to her, 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:04.359 the Holy Spirit will come upon you, 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:05.460 and listen to this, 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:06.599 and try to take this in, 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:07.619 and think of this, 00:24:07.619 --> 00:24:10.819 your 15, 16, 17 years of age. 00:24:11.479 --> 00:24:12.839 Those of you who are older than that, 00:24:12.919 --> 00:24:13.879 and that's most of you in this room, 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:16.219 I want you to backpedal to that point in time. 00:24:17.299 --> 00:24:17.599 Okay? 00:24:18.779 --> 00:24:20.819 The Holy Spirit will come upon you. 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:22.939 The power of the Most High, 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:23.799 speaking of God, 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.000 will overshadow you. 00:24:28.639 --> 00:24:30.819 Therefore, the Holy One to be born 00:24:30.819 --> 00:24:34.599 will be called the Son of God. 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:38.000 That's what he says. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:41.119 I'm 69 years old. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.480 I'm a graduate of two Baptist colleges, 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:48.879 two Baptist seminaries. 00:24:49.879 --> 00:24:51.699 I've read the Scripture all my life. 00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:53.500 I've studied theology. 00:24:53.899 --> 00:24:55.000 Not as well as some, 00:24:55.079 --> 00:24:56.399 but I've studied theology. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:58.140 Can I tell you something? 00:24:59.140 --> 00:25:01.100 That goes right over the top of my head. 00:25:02.820 --> 00:25:05.500 I understand the big picture, 00:25:06.180 --> 00:25:08.480 but to understand how that comes about, 00:25:08.860 --> 00:25:10.140 I don't know. 00:25:11.120 --> 00:25:14.040 There is nothing sexual implied 00:25:14.040 --> 00:25:16.900 in what Luke just tells us, 00:25:17.360 --> 00:25:20.519 what he records Gabriel as having said. 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:23.059 But how that occurs, 00:25:23.299 --> 00:25:24.539 I don't know. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:26.879 Other than to tell you 00:25:26.879 --> 00:25:28.639 that's a miracle of God. 00:25:29.379 --> 00:25:31.039 I say that to say this. 00:25:31.639 --> 00:25:34.259 If it flies over my head at 69 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:36.019 and over your head, 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:39.059 and you've read the story 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:40.079 and know what occurred, 00:25:41.259 --> 00:25:42.839 how do you think Mary felt? 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:46.440 What do you think Mary makes of that? 00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:50.240 when the angel Gabriel says to her 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:53.880 what he says in verse 35. 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:57.940 So he looks in her eyes. 00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:01.059 What do you think the angel sees 00:26:01.059 --> 00:26:02.380 when he looks into Mary's eyes? 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:03.840 You've probably never thought about that before. 00:26:04.220 --> 00:26:05.799 But he's looking into Mary's eyes. 00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:07.259 How do you think she looks? 00:26:07.340 --> 00:26:07.920 I don't know. 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:10.360 She seems to me to really have it together. 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:12.940 She's less afraid than the others he's talked to. 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:15.299 How do you think she looks? 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:16.240 You know what I think? 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:18.799 She looks perplexed. 00:26:19.860 --> 00:26:21.559 She's wanting to accept this 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:23.180 and you're going to see later she does. 00:26:24.140 --> 00:26:26.340 But there are just huge question marks 00:26:26.340 --> 00:26:27.460 all over her face. 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:30.220 So here's what the angel Gabriel 00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:32.700 in his brilliance given to him by God 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:33.980 says next. 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:37.220 He's going to give her a means of affirmation. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:39.039 Look at verse 36. 00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:42.019 And consider your relative Elizabeth. 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:43.259 Now watch this. 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:44.680 The second he says that, 00:26:44.680 --> 00:26:48.140 And consider your relative Elizabeth. 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:49.120 You know what happens? 00:26:49.240 --> 00:26:49.900 I can tell you right now. 00:26:50.299 --> 00:26:51.320 Her eyes perked up. 00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:52.640 Her ears perked up. 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:54.440 Because that's a name she, 00:26:54.580 --> 00:26:55.720 now she knows something. 00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:57.400 I know Elizabeth. 00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:02.000 Consider your relative Elizabeth. 00:27:03.000 --> 00:27:03.759 What about Elizabeth? 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:05.440 Well, look at what he says. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:10.259 Even she has conceived a son. 00:27:10.360 --> 00:27:11.160 See that word even? 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:13.720 In other words, can you believe it? 00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:15.740 Even she has conceived a son 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:16.600 in her old age. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:18.799 And this is the sixth month for her 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:20.519 who was called barren. 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:23.059 Remember reading the Old Testament 00:27:23.059 --> 00:27:24.299 when women couldn't have babies? 00:27:24.980 --> 00:27:26.340 That's what they labeled them. 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:27.200 They were barren. 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:29.820 It was a term of shame. 00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:32.139 It was something no woman at that time wanted. 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:33.859 Every woman in that day and time 00:27:33.859 --> 00:27:35.379 wanted to be able to bear babies. 00:27:35.639 --> 00:27:37.899 And so they had labeled her barren. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:39.939 Mary had no doubt heard Elizabeth 00:27:39.939 --> 00:27:41.559 referred to in that fashion. 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:42.980 And then he says, 00:27:43.119 --> 00:27:45.939 For nothing will be impossible with God. 00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:48.119 You know what he's done? 00:27:49.379 --> 00:27:51.399 He's given her a means 00:27:51.399 --> 00:27:55.099 of at least partially making sense 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:57.139 of what he has said. 00:27:57.140 --> 00:27:59.240 He says, 00:27:59.560 --> 00:28:01.040 I know you're taking all this in, 00:28:01.600 --> 00:28:02.580 but consider this. 00:28:02.820 --> 00:28:06.259 Even your relative Elizabeth 00:28:06.259 --> 00:28:08.020 is now six months pregnant. 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:09.020 Mary goes, 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:09.800 What? 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:11.820 I can see her mouth drop open. 00:28:12.800 --> 00:28:13.180 What? 00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:15.820 Because her relative, 00:28:16.080 --> 00:28:17.280 we know from other passages, 00:28:18.020 --> 00:28:20.140 is way, way, way up in years. 00:28:21.100 --> 00:28:23.140 Remember when Gabriel visits Zechariah 00:28:23.720 --> 00:28:25.160 when he's ministering in the temple? 00:28:25.160 --> 00:28:27.620 And he comes to Zechariah. 00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:28.920 He's in the holy place. 00:28:29.320 --> 00:28:29.840 And he says, 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:32.019 You and Elizabeth are going to have a baby. 00:28:32.120 --> 00:28:33.840 Remember Zechariah's response? 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:34.540 What? 00:28:35.580 --> 00:28:36.660 We're old. 00:28:37.800 --> 00:28:39.259 We've tried lots of times. 00:28:39.759 --> 00:28:41.120 That's not going to happen. 00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:43.180 How will I know this is going to happen? 00:28:43.800 --> 00:28:45.160 And the angel says to Zechariah, 00:28:46.100 --> 00:28:46.860 Here's how you'll know. 00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:47.440 Here's a sign. 00:28:47.560 --> 00:28:48.460 You're going to be mute. 00:28:49.140 --> 00:28:50.240 You'll not be able to speak 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:51.279 until that baby comes. 00:28:51.340 --> 00:28:51.940 And when it comes, 00:28:52.220 --> 00:28:53.300 you name him John. 00:28:53.299 --> 00:28:56.460 He's referring to John the Baptist. 00:28:57.619 --> 00:28:59.839 Now, you've got to understand this 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:01.419 because our culture is so different 00:29:01.419 --> 00:29:02.639 than hers is. 00:29:03.319 --> 00:29:04.859 She didn't know anything about this. 00:29:05.919 --> 00:29:06.740 Her relative 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:09.139 is in another town 00:29:09.139 --> 00:29:11.000 miles away. 00:29:11.940 --> 00:29:13.119 But in our culture, 00:29:13.220 --> 00:29:14.659 we know everything instantly, right? 00:29:15.139 --> 00:29:16.619 I mean, we can stream it. 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:18.639 We can text somebody. 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:19.419 We can get on the internet. 00:29:19.420 --> 00:29:20.640 We know everything that happens 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:21.519 in seconds. 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:24.180 But not so in her world. 00:29:25.060 --> 00:29:25.480 And so, 00:29:25.680 --> 00:29:26.700 this angel has just told her 00:29:26.700 --> 00:29:28.779 something that just blows her mind. 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:29.920 So, 00:29:30.120 --> 00:29:31.560 how does she confirm it? 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:31.820 Well, 00:29:32.560 --> 00:29:33.500 look down, if you will, 00:29:34.100 --> 00:29:35.460 at the beginning of the passage, 00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:37.360 right immediately after this passage. 00:29:37.500 --> 00:29:38.380 Look at verse 39. 00:29:38.380 --> 00:29:40.640 In those days, 00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:41.540 Mary sat out. 00:29:41.600 --> 00:29:42.940 This is right after this conversation 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:43.500 with this angel. 00:29:44.220 --> 00:29:44.860 In those days, 00:29:44.940 --> 00:29:45.840 Mary sat out 00:29:45.840 --> 00:29:46.820 and hurried to a town 00:29:46.820 --> 00:29:47.980 in the hill country of Judah 00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:50.180 where she entered Zechariah's house 00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:51.340 and greeted Elizabeth. 00:29:51.700 --> 00:29:53.340 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, 00:29:53.660 --> 00:29:55.320 the baby leaped inside her 00:29:55.320 --> 00:29:56.680 and Elizabeth was filled 00:29:56.680 --> 00:29:57.940 with the Holy Spirit. 00:29:59.340 --> 00:30:01.880 She goes and sees for herself 00:30:01.880 --> 00:30:06.000 Elizabeth is expecting a baby. 00:30:06.000 --> 00:30:06.440 Now, 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:08.640 I don't know, 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:10.839 have you got a 90-year-old aunt, 00:30:12.039 --> 00:30:13.740 a 90-year-old grandmother? 00:30:14.599 --> 00:30:15.660 Can you imagine, 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:16.759 you go see that aunt, 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:17.480 a grandmother, 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:18.160 a relative, 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:20.099 and they're way, 00:30:20.180 --> 00:30:20.380 way, 00:30:20.500 --> 00:30:20.740 way, 00:30:20.859 --> 00:30:21.059 way, 00:30:21.059 --> 00:30:23.220 way past the point of childbearing 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:25.599 and here they are, 00:30:26.539 --> 00:30:27.460 six months pregnant. 00:30:28.500 --> 00:30:29.440 Can you imagine? 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:31.480 Can you imagine your shock 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:33.980 if you saw that even today, 00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:34.660 right here in Pittsburgh, 00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:35.619 you just encounter, 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:37.739 that's what Mary encountered 00:30:37.739 --> 00:30:39.079 and then Elizabeth turns to her 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:39.419 and says, 00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:40.279 Mary, 00:30:40.439 --> 00:30:41.500 you are blessed of women. 00:30:42.119 --> 00:30:42.679 How so? 00:30:43.359 --> 00:30:44.039 My baby, 00:30:44.139 --> 00:30:45.219 when he heard your voice 00:30:45.219 --> 00:30:46.339 speak to me at the door, 00:30:47.099 --> 00:30:48.779 it leapt within my womb. 00:30:50.179 --> 00:30:50.579 You, 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:51.759 Elizabeth knew, 00:30:52.179 --> 00:30:54.339 she was favored of God. 00:30:55.059 --> 00:30:56.000 You know what all that did? 00:30:56.659 --> 00:30:58.699 It affirmed for Mary 00:30:58.699 --> 00:31:00.139 that everything 00:31:00.139 --> 00:31:02.399 the angel Gabriel had said 00:31:02.399 --> 00:31:04.619 was absolutely true. 00:31:04.619 --> 00:31:05.959 Now here's where you're 00:31:05.959 --> 00:31:06.819 going to have to backpedal 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:07.899 with me for just a moment, 00:31:07.979 --> 00:31:08.259 okay? 00:31:09.639 --> 00:31:10.979 That occurs 00:31:10.979 --> 00:31:12.919 after the conversation 00:31:12.919 --> 00:31:13.779 with Gabriel. 00:31:14.899 --> 00:31:15.859 At this point, 00:31:15.939 --> 00:31:16.599 you've got to adjust 00:31:16.599 --> 00:31:17.299 your head and think 00:31:17.299 --> 00:31:17.759 and understand, 00:31:18.459 --> 00:31:20.019 Mary's still in the dark. 00:31:21.399 --> 00:31:22.359 She's been told, 00:31:22.579 --> 00:31:23.579 you're going to have this baby, 00:31:23.919 --> 00:31:24.799 you're not married, 00:31:25.259 --> 00:31:26.039 the Holy Spirit's 00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:27.039 going to overshadow you, 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:28.819 God's baby's going to be 00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:30.159 placed in your womb. 00:31:31.079 --> 00:31:31.839 And by the way, 00:31:31.899 --> 00:31:32.460 she says, 00:31:32.720 --> 00:31:33.440 how can this be? 00:31:33.480 --> 00:31:34.299 I've never been with a man. 00:31:35.019 --> 00:31:35.700 By the way, 00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:37.980 your relative Elizabeth 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:39.680 is going to have a baby. 00:31:40.579 --> 00:31:41.960 That's just what he says. 00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:43.579 She hasn't seen that 00:31:43.579 --> 00:31:44.460 at this point in time. 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:45.420 Right? 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:46.440 Everybody with me? 00:31:47.500 --> 00:31:48.440 She doesn't know that 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:48.960 for a fact. 00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:50.500 I want you to notice 00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:51.599 what her response is. 00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:52.500 And I bring all this 00:31:52.500 --> 00:31:53.200 to a close. 00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:55.900 Verse 37, 00:31:56.700 --> 00:31:57.680 for nothing will be 00:31:57.680 --> 00:31:59.059 impossible with God. 00:31:59.140 --> 00:31:59.359 Boy, 00:32:00.039 --> 00:32:00.700 if there's anything 00:32:00.700 --> 00:32:01.559 you'll take away today, 00:32:01.640 --> 00:32:02.400 take away that. 00:32:03.579 --> 00:32:04.680 If we could live 00:32:04.680 --> 00:32:07.180 in the constant 00:32:07.180 --> 00:32:09.359 remembrance of that statement, 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:11.140 it would change how we pray, 00:32:11.220 --> 00:32:12.279 it would change how we live. 00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:13.640 The angel says, 00:32:13.779 --> 00:32:13.980 listen, 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:14.920 I know this is 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:16.200 way beyond anything 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:16.960 you've ever imagined, 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:18.460 but keep in mind, 00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:19.599 nothing is impossible 00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:20.460 with God. 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:21.779 Believers, 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:22.420 I want to tell you something. 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:23.400 Here at First Pickens Day, 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:24.799 if we could just 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:26.000 embrace that, 00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:27.319 how it would change 00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:27.640 our life. 00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:28.240 There's nothing 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:29.059 impossible with God. 00:32:29.440 --> 00:32:30.220 Verse 36, 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:31.880 excuse me, 00:32:31.940 --> 00:32:32.640 verse 38. 00:32:33.319 --> 00:32:34.380 Here's her response. 00:32:35.180 --> 00:32:36.779 I am the Lord's slave, 00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:38.119 said Mary. 00:32:39.059 --> 00:32:40.700 May it be done to me 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:42.319 according to your word. 00:32:43.500 --> 00:32:45.359 Then the angel left her. 00:32:46.839 --> 00:32:48.099 So Elizabeth, 00:32:49.299 --> 00:32:51.039 sight still unseen, 00:32:51.039 --> 00:32:53.799 is referred to by this angel. 00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:56.119 And when this conversation 00:32:56.119 --> 00:32:56.639 is over, 00:32:57.639 --> 00:32:59.019 she goes and sees for herself 00:32:59.019 --> 00:33:00.240 and when she sees Elizabeth 00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:02.420 and sees that she's pregnant, 00:33:03.359 --> 00:33:04.099 blows her mind, 00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:05.019 but then she knows 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:05.799 everything is true. 00:33:06.460 --> 00:33:07.319 But here's the big thing. 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:09.119 Before that ever occurs, 00:33:09.980 --> 00:33:11.079 before she ever leaves 00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:11.960 tiny Nazareth, 00:33:12.700 --> 00:33:14.579 before Gabriel ever departs, 00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:17.039 she makes up her mind already 00:33:17.039 --> 00:33:17.879 what her feeling 00:33:17.879 --> 00:33:18.779 about this is going to be. 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:21.180 She turns to him and says, 00:33:22.420 --> 00:33:24.180 pretty mind-blowing, 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:27.599 I'm the Lord's servant. 00:33:29.599 --> 00:33:31.319 So whatever he wants, 00:33:32.319 --> 00:33:33.379 it's okay. 00:33:35.539 --> 00:33:36.859 Whatever his will, 00:33:37.859 --> 00:33:39.180 may it be. 00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:42.060 Boy, that's a picture 00:33:42.060 --> 00:33:42.799 of faith, isn't it? 00:33:44.299 --> 00:33:45.600 Now you get a little bit 00:33:45.600 --> 00:33:45.940 of an idea 00:33:45.940 --> 00:33:47.120 why God maybe chose 00:33:47.120 --> 00:33:48.500 a woman like Mary. 00:33:49.860 --> 00:33:51.259 Didn't have all the experience 00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:52.240 that other mothers had. 00:33:53.480 --> 00:33:54.400 But I'm going to tell you something. 00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:55.460 That kind of heart, 00:33:56.539 --> 00:33:56.920 she says, 00:33:57.019 --> 00:33:58.779 I'm the Lord's slave. 00:33:59.519 --> 00:33:59.940 You know the thing 00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:00.620 about slaves? 00:34:01.299 --> 00:34:02.660 They're not decision makers. 00:34:04.600 --> 00:34:05.519 Slaves aren't planners. 00:34:07.259 --> 00:34:08.680 Slaves aren't strategists. 00:34:09.839 --> 00:34:11.179 Slaves don't call the shots. 00:34:12.440 --> 00:34:13.279 Slaves are doers. 00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:15.480 Slaves obey. 00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:18.239 They just follow the course 00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:19.399 that the master is set for. 00:34:20.460 --> 00:34:21.980 And so when she hears all this, 00:34:22.019 --> 00:34:23.179 she's trying to take it in. 00:34:23.619 --> 00:34:24.099 And I'm going to tell you, 00:34:24.119 --> 00:34:24.579 at 69, 00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:25.919 I can't begin to take it in. 00:34:26.779 --> 00:34:28.079 But this little young woman 00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:29.119 takes all this in. 00:34:29.219 --> 00:34:30.000 She just simply says, 00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:30.980 I'm the Lord's slave. 00:34:31.940 --> 00:34:33.859 May it be as he will. 00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:37.279 You know what bothers me 00:34:37.279 --> 00:34:38.199 about me a whole lot? 00:34:39.179 --> 00:34:40.199 The older I get, 00:34:40.259 --> 00:34:41.599 I wonder where my life's going. 00:34:43.059 --> 00:34:44.759 I wonder what's going to become of me. 00:34:45.899 --> 00:34:47.539 How do one day all end? 00:34:48.159 --> 00:34:49.099 The older I get. 00:34:50.539 --> 00:34:52.839 I think about that a lot of days. 00:34:53.899 --> 00:34:55.019 What will my end be like? 00:34:55.099 --> 00:34:56.019 Where's my life going? 00:34:56.279 --> 00:34:57.259 How's it all going to end? 00:34:57.260 --> 00:35:00.640 I wish I thought about it less. 00:35:00.820 --> 00:35:02.620 I wish I could just live in the moment 00:35:02.620 --> 00:35:04.540 and not think about those things at times. 00:35:06.380 --> 00:35:07.280 I want to tell you something. 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:10.980 The freest you will ever be in your life 00:35:10.980 --> 00:35:14.280 will be when you can come to the place 00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:15.220 you will say, 00:35:16.020 --> 00:35:17.700 whatever you will, 00:35:18.240 --> 00:35:19.560 I'm okay with it. 00:35:19.559 --> 00:35:21.860 I don't understand it. 00:35:22.980 --> 00:35:24.639 Maybe it wouldn't be what I'd choose myself. 00:35:24.739 --> 00:35:25.279 I want to tell you something. 00:35:25.380 --> 00:35:26.559 If she'd been given an option, 00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:28.460 hey, you want to have a baby out of wedlock? 00:35:31.799 --> 00:35:32.579 Hey, you want to? 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:33.480 No. 00:35:34.820 --> 00:35:35.880 My daughter's getting married 00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:36.679 at the end of December. 00:35:36.799 --> 00:35:37.900 She's got big wedding plans. 00:35:38.099 --> 00:35:39.779 Everything going on in our house right now 00:35:39.779 --> 00:35:40.739 is about weddings. 00:35:40.739 --> 00:35:43.699 She would hate like anything 00:35:43.699 --> 00:35:45.579 for any of that to get disrupted. 00:35:46.579 --> 00:35:47.659 But Mary says, 00:35:48.239 --> 00:35:49.919 okay, I got plans. 00:35:50.039 --> 00:35:50.739 I know where I'm going, 00:35:50.859 --> 00:35:52.899 but if that's what you want, 00:35:53.479 --> 00:35:55.599 then so be it, God. 00:35:56.519 --> 00:35:57.959 I'm okay with whatever you got. 00:35:59.559 --> 00:36:00.619 You're not where you are today. 00:36:02.199 --> 00:36:03.079 Because I'm going to tell you, 00:36:03.099 --> 00:36:04.059 as a person of faith, 00:36:05.059 --> 00:36:06.519 that ought to be where you want to be. 00:36:08.479 --> 00:36:10.039 Whatever you want, oh God, 00:36:10.039 --> 00:36:11.559 it's okay about me. 00:36:12.639 --> 00:36:13.579 I'm going to challenge you 00:36:13.579 --> 00:36:14.380 to do this right now 00:36:14.380 --> 00:36:15.440 without, because you don't know 00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:16.900 what the future holds for you, right? 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:19.420 Some of you got things up in the air, 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:20.320 health concerns, 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:22.380 or you got family situations, 00:36:22.759 --> 00:36:24.099 or job situations, 00:36:24.199 --> 00:36:25.400 or children situations, 00:36:25.400 --> 00:36:26.920 and you don't know 00:36:26.920 --> 00:36:28.739 where they're taking you right now. 00:36:30.019 --> 00:36:32.139 But I wonder if in the next few moments, 00:36:32.219 --> 00:36:33.579 as we have this hymn of invitation, 00:36:33.940 --> 00:36:36.199 if you would pray something like Mary said, 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:39.500 God, I don't understand all this. 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:41.480 Not smart enough to get it. 00:36:42.659 --> 00:36:43.519 But whatever you will, 00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:44.500 I'm okay with it. 00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:46.519 I put myself in your hands. 00:36:46.639 --> 00:36:47.099 It's okay. 00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:50.019 Brian, lead us. 00:36:50.860 --> 00:36:51.460 Let's stand 00:36:51.460 --> 00:36:52.860 as he sings. 00:36:52.860 --> 00:37:04.300 George, 00:37:04.539 --> 00:37:06.400 sir. 00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:06.680 God. 00:37:06.680 --> 00:37:08.140 Go.