"Spiritual Gifts" by Brian Amerman

Good morning!

Well, now we can all say that Christmas is behind us.  Did you get all the gifts that you ever wanted?  Did you give all of the gifts that you wanted to give?  Did you find that perfect gift for someone extra special in your life?

As this Christmas season draws to a close, let’s talk a bit about gifts, and giving.

Not about gifts of the material kind, like we find under the Christmas Tree, but gifts of a different nature.  Let’s talk about:

SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

The first logical question that you might ask yourself is:  What are Spiritual Gifts?  Well, each one of us, who are new creations in Christ when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, has been given something that we can do to further His Kingdom.

How do we know that?  Where am I coming up with that?  Did I just make that up?

Scripture tells us so!  In this church we preach what the Bible says.  We don’t just come up with stuff to make you feel good or tickle your ears.  If it can’t be backed up with scripture, it doesn’t belong in a sermon.  

Unless of course it’s a goofy story about something we did once, then that’s OK.  

So let’s look it up and see what it says about Spiritual Gifts.  First let’s turn to Romans 12: 4-8.  My Bible labels this paragraph that Paul wrote as “Humble Service in the Body of Christ”.  That is a very good description of what I’ll be talking about this morning, and I hope that you will see why.


READ - Romans 12: 4-8


Paul uses the comparison of the human body to the body of Christ, which is the church.  In the human body there are many parts, each with a different function.  Likewise in the church there are many people, each with a different Spiritual Gift to perform their many different functions.  He states that not all members, or parts, of the body have the same function.  “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us” he writes.  He then goes on to tell us that whatever it is that we are gifted with, that we should be doing it.  “If it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach”. 


Spiritual Gifts are mentioned several times in 1st Corinthians as well.  Let’s see what scripture tells us there.  Turn now to 1 Corinthians chapter 12.  We’ll look at 3 different passages in this chapter, so keep your Bibles open here for a bit.  Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 12: 1 first.


 READ - 1 Corinthians 12:1


In verse 1 Paul states that he does not want us to be uninformed about these Spiritual Gifts that we are talking about here.  To me that means that he considers this an important topic.  If it’s important to Paul, then it should be important to us as well, don’t you think?


Now let’s skip down a few verses and look at 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11


READ - 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11


Once again he says that there are different kinds of gifts, but that the same Spirit distributes them all.  He says that there are different kinds of service, but that we serve the same Lord.  I take that to mean that ALL service to our Lord is important, whatever form that takes.  


In verse 7 Paul says “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good”.  That means that we are all working for the same goal, to further the Kingdom of God.  Just as all parts of the human body function for the common good of the entire body.


Verse 11 tells us that “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”  Our Spiritual Gifts come from God and the Holy Spirit.  It is God who determines what gifts we are given.  It is up to US to use them!


And further along in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 we come to verses 27 thru 31.  Let’s look at what Paul has to say here.


 READ - 1 Corinthians 12: 27-31


Here is where Paul refers to us, believers and members of the church, as “the body of Christ”.  He states that each one of us is a part of it.  As a part, each of us has something to do for the common good. And he goes on to state that it is God who has placed in the church all the parts needed to do the work of furthering His Kingdom.  “Are all apostles, are all prophets, are all teachers, do all work miracles, do all have gifts of healing, do all speak in tongues, do all interpret?” he asks in verse 29.  The answer is NO. All do not do all of these things.  But verse 31 tells us to eagerly desire these greater things.  In other words, we should use the gifts given us, all the while desiring the greater gifts.


Now turn to the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 11 through 13.  I’m starting to get the idea that these Spiritual Gifts that we are talking about this morning are kind of a big deal to Paul.  He seems to mention them in several of his letters to outlying churches.  It’s as if he REALLY wants these churches to pay attention to this issue.  Do you suppose that’s because it is through these Spiritual Gifts that these churches grow?  Or that it is through the use of our Spiritual Gifts that God’s Kingdom grows?  Let’s see what he says here.


READ - Ephesians 4: 11-13


Verses 11 and 12 tell us that it is Christ himself who gave the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers “to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up”.  What is the body of Christ?  The church!   Christ gave people the talent and calling to do these things so that the church may be built up.  He gave people Spiritual Gifts to accomplish that which He wanted done, the building up of His church.


And what does verse 13 mean when it says “until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”?  I take that to mean that we become unified and mature in our understanding of who Christ is and that ultimately we become more like Christ every day in every way.
 


Now let’s turn to 1 Peter chapter 4.  This is the last piece of scripture that I want to read on this subject and it comes not from Paul this time, but from Peter.  But as we’ll see, it sounds just like what Paul has been telling us in the earlier scripture that we have read.  Turn to 1 Peter 4: 10-11.


READ - 1 Peter 4: 10-11


We are being told here that we should use whatever gifts we have been given to serve others, as faithful stewards of the Grace that has been given to us by God.  And we are to do this so that “in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.  To Him be the glory and power for ever and ever.  Amen”. 


 We are to use our Spiritual Gifts for the Glory of God.  Not for our own glory, not so that others will say, “Wow, look at us and all that we are doing for our church”.  Never for our own glory, but always for God’s glory.  Beware of pride sneaking in.  This isn’t about us, or using our gifts to further ourselves.  It is about us using our Spiritual Gifts, which are gifts from God, to further HIS church and HIS Kingdom.


So, after hearing all that, do you know what your particular Spiritual Gifts are?


If not, how do we find out what they are?


If you are aware of your Spiritual Gifts, are you using them?






One way to find out what your Spiritual Gifts are is to pray about them.  Simply ask God to reveal them to you.  Ask Him to show you how you can be of service to Him.  God answers prayers!  Ask Him what He wants you to be doing, in service to others and to His church.


Another way is to take a personal assessment of your skills and talents.  Some time back we did such a thing in our church.  This is something that we could do on a Wednesday night, and it involves answering a series of questions designed to reveal what your gifts for ministry to others might be.  I have done this and it is helpful.  If there is interest in doing this, let me know and we’ll see about setting it up in the future. 


Yes, I said your ministry to others.  That’s the main way that we serve God’s Kingdom, by helping others.


What does that look like?  What do you have to do to be of service to God?  How do you use those Spiritual Gifts that you have been given?


It can take any number of forms.  It can be almost anything.


Maybe it’s reading scripture and leading the congregation in prayer at the beginning of a Sunday worship service.  What?  You’ve never done that and it sounds scary?  It’s not.  If Pastor asks you to do this some time, give it a try.  Step up here.  You might find that you enjoy it.


Maybe it’s helping with meals at church, cleaning up, washing dishes.  There is always a need for this.  I’m glad to say that we have seem to have this well handled in this church, but pitch in and help out when you can.  You might find that something as menial as washing dishes after a church meal can provide blessings in ways you never imagined.


Maybe it’s helping to decorate, and then un-decorate, the church at Christmas.  I have to say that this is NOT my Spiritual Gift, but that just may be the Scrooge in me coming out.  I do have to say that I enjoy looking at Christmas decorations, I just don’t enjoy putting them up and taking them down.  But for those that do, that is a use of their gift for serving others in this way.


Your Spiritual Gift may be something as simple as faithful attendance at church.  It’s hard for your class leaders, teachers and Pastor to prepare a study or sermon for Wednesday night, Thursday night or Sunday morning when only a few or none show up.  It’s discouraging.  Encourage your church leaders by your regular attendance. 


Maybe your Spiritual Gift is encouragement, as was mentioned in Romans 12 verse 8, and you can do that by your faithful attendance.


Perhaps it’s compassion for those in need, the poor, the addicted, the incarcerated?  HEY, THAT’S OUR CHURCH!  I have seen those in financial need get that help from this church.  Remember what Paul said in Romans 12:7 ? “If your gift is giving, then give generously.”  I have seen that in this church, and that is using the Spiritual Gifts that God gave those who were able to help.  Not just the financial ability to give to others, but the HEART for giving.  


Our food pantry is a blessing for this community and gets used a lot.  I see our church keeping this stocked up and available so that those in need have it there for them when they need it.  


More than a few members of this congregation have made it a life’s work to minister to the incarcerated, in several different ways.  If this isn’t making use of your Spiritual Gifts then I don’t know what is.  Spending your own time and money to travel to prison units throughout the state, to spread God’s word to the lost, has to be a Spiritual Gift.  It’s not something we all can or should do, but for those that do I’m sure that it is God’s Spiritual Gift that allows them to keep going.  


All of those who are doing this work are making use of their Spiritual Gifts.  


Maybe your gift is helping with the nursery on Sundays.  Perhaps it’s painting and fixing up.  It could be organizing our clothes ministry upstairs.


All of this can be considered as using your spiritual gifts to further the Kingdom of God.


How about teaching a Sunday School class or leading a Wednesday night Bible study?  These would be uses of your gifts too.  There is always a need in our church for this.  Always.  Give it a try.  It’s not scary, and you’ll find that the one who leads the class is always the one that learns the most from it.


Like the scripture that we read says, some have the gifts for prophesy, performing miracles, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues.  Obviously we don’t all have these gifts.  Few have these gifts.  We have probably never met anyone with such gifts.  Does that mean that our gifts are less worthy or less important?  Not at all.


We are to use the spiritual gifts that we have been given, no matter what they are.  Remember what Peter said in 1 Peter 4:10 ?  “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in it’s various forms.”


What if we don’t use our Spiritual Gifts?  What if we just sit on the sidelines and watch others?


Think about it this way:  Imagine that you are shopping for someone extra special on your list, someone you love, and you find them a gift, a really wonderful, expensive gift.  You give this gift to them …..  and they don’t show any appreciation for it and never use it.  How does that make you feel?  You probably feel hurt and disappointed, right?  Well think how God feels when we don’t use the Spiritual Gifts that He has given us to help others, and to further His Kingdom?


Is there such a thing as a true believer in Jesus Christ with NO spiritual gifts?  No!  We all have something we have been given a talent for, a heart for.  If you don’t do anything to further His Kingdom, you are not pleasing God.  You are not using the gifts that He gave you.


Sometimes it may take trying something new or different to discover whether or not you have a talent for it.  It might even be intimidating or scary to you.  That’s OK.  I never in my life imagined that I had a gift for standing up here, in front of you all, on a Sunday morning.  I’M STILL NOT SURE THAT I DO, but I’m up here trying it anyway.  
Sometimes we have to pray for the boldness to try something new, something we have never done before.  God answers prayers!  Ask Him to reveal your Spiritual Gifts to you, and then pray for the boldness to use them.


And now, as the music softly plays, let’s bow our heads and close our eyes.
 * 
If you want to, ask God … RIGHT NOW … to reveal to you what Spiritual Gifts He has given you to help others.  To help further His Kingdom.  Maybe pray for the boldness to use the gifts that you know you have already been given.
*

If you don’t have that personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and you know in your heart that He is calling you, please come forward and talk to me or Pastor Todd about that now.  Jesus said in the book of John chapter 14 verse 6 “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  That means that there is no other way to heaven, or to come to know God, except through Jesus.  Let’s start that relationship today, if you haven’t already done so.

*

Perhaps you’d like to join the church, or talk to Pastor Todd or me about God’s plan of Salvation for you.  We are here for that too.  God’s Spiritual Gifts are waiting for you.  It all begins with asking His Son Jesus into your heart and life as your own, personal savior.  If so, please come forward now.  Maybe you just need someone to pray with you about a pressing need in your life.  We are here, available for that too.

“A Christmas Point of View” – Joseph – Matthew 1

“I have a dream” says Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

While we know that things have gotten considerably better on the civil rights front, it might be debatable whether that dream has come completely true.  While I will never be the preacher that Dr. King was, I too have a dream.  I have a dream of revival breaking out in Wise County, led not by me but other members of this church.

I have a dream of seeing this church ministering to the poor, addicted and incarcerated and it breaking out into a great turning-back of people to have a life-changing relationship with Jesus.  I have a dream of seeing our neighbor behind us coming to know God through His Son Jesus.  I have a dream of seeing the neighbors across the street know the peace and joy that comes with being a true believer.  I have a dream of seeing Lake Bridgeport being known as a hotbed of radical Christianity.

That’s my dream; well, one of my dreams.  I also dream of someday being a cowboy and a racecar driver.  Just being honest.  How about you?  What is your dream?  Do you dream about being rich and famous?  Do you dream of retirement?  Travel?  Anybody else want to be a cowboy or racecar driver?  Maybe we could go in together on something.  I don’t know.

The Bible talks quite a bit about the things that some people dreamed about.  In Luke chapter 2, it says, “²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:  ²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

His dream was to see the Messiah.  Right after that it talks about a woman named Anna who had the same dream.  It had been prophesied over and over again in the Old Testament in places like Isaiah 9 that says, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

That part about sitting on the throne of David was a big deal to the early Jews because David was kind of a big deal with God and God told David in 2 Samuel 7:16, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever."  And ever since then the Jewish people were waiting and hoping and dreaming of being able to see that prophecy come true.

Fast forward a thousand or so years and the Jewish people had not forgotten.  They would never forget.  They are still dreaming of one day seeing the Messiah fulfill the prophecy and reign on the throne of David forever.  There was a young carpenter who lived in Nazareth, which was north of Jerusalem, and I don’t know if he dreamed that same dream but I’m sure he was aware of the prophecy.  In fact, I’m sure he was aware of his genealogy that included David and how the genealogy of his soon-to-be wife also included David.  I wonder if they ever dared to dream that maybe the Christ, the Messiah, would come from their lineage.  It’s quite possible that their marriage had been arranged by two sets of parents with just that thought.  We don’t know.

But then the man’s fiancée comes to him with what seems to be obviously horrible news.  She is pregnant.  Since he knew that it could not be his child, he is devastated.  He loves her and wants the best for her but this will never work.  He can’t marry a girl who has obviously been unfaithful to him before they even get officially married.  In Jewish custom, they are in the betrothal period which is just like being married except they didn’t live together and this could only be broken by divorce.  Technically he could even have her stoned to death but he would never do that.

So he went to sleep determined to do the right thing by her even if she hadn’t by him.  But in this sleep, he too had a dream.  Let’s read about what Christmas must have looked like from Joseph’s point of view in Matthew 1:18-25.

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). ²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Has anybody ever told you something and you really wanted to believe them but it was just too incredible of a story?  I used to work with a good friend of mine and he was always coming in and telling me these wild stories about crazy things that had happened to him.  He got mugged.  He got in a fight.  He met Merle Haggard.  Crazy stuff and I wanted to believe him but it was just too much.  Except it always turned out to be true.

Don’t you know Joseph wanted to believe Mary?  He really did, but come on!  You’re pregnant and an angel told you that it was ok because the Holy Spirit caused it.  That’s just too much to believe and even if he could believe it, nobody else would.  So, obviously the best thing to do for everybody was just divorce the girl quietly and move on.

We looked at Mary’s point of view last week and we saw that while God chose Mary to be the mother of the Savior simply through His grace, we also saw that she had put herself in the place to be blessed by being pure.  Now we look at it from Joseph’s point of view and look at what the scripture says about Joseph in verse 19.  He was a righteous man.  What do you think that means?

I did some research (not google this time) and looked up the word “righteous” in my concordance and believe it or not, do you know what the word means?  Righteous means to be right!  It means to be right with God.  Joseph was right with God before any of this happened.  Do you think that is a coincidence?  Do you think that God chose Mary who was pure and she just happened to be about to marry Joseph who was righteous?  This is a perfect example of what I have said so many times.  God’s will is going to be done one way or another and you can choose to be obedient and be a part of it or you can choose to disobey and suffer the consequences.  Joseph was righteous and that means he was obedient and so he got to enjoy the benefits of it.

But we don’t know much about young Joseph.  We don’t know specifically what made him righteous in God’s eyes so what does it mean and what does righteousness look like?  Well, there are several people named in the Bible as righteous.  Moses, Noah and Abraham were all called righteous and do you know what all three had in common?  All three were also named for their faith. 

In fact, if you turn over to what we call the “faith chapter” of the Bible, Hebrews 11, you will see several others named for their faith.  In verse 4, Abel was commended as a righteous man because of his faith.  In verse 7, by faith Noah became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.  By faith Abraham, by faith Isaac, by faith Jacob, by faith Moses and on and on and then look at this fascinating verse 39 that says, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised.”

What had been promised?  What had been prophesied and predicted?  The Messiah, the Christ had been prophesied and it was what they all dreamed about getting to see.  But none of these mentioned had lived long enough to see that promise come true.  They all had a dream that one day they would see Jesus.  They all had faith that led to righteousness.  So, how does faith lead to righteousness?

I used to have an Australian Shepherd named JD. JD was a great dog and he went with me everywhere including to work every day.  I worked at a feed store in Arlington and JD loved to ride and loved to go with me even though the little store had no air conditioning.  So, I opened all the doors and windows and turned on all the fans and it was bearable.

JD liked to stay outside though either on the front porch and greet the customers as they came in or he would be in the back in the shade of a tree watching traffic go by.  He was always right there until one day he wasn’t.  He wasn’t in the front or back when it was time to go home so I closed up and went looking for him.  I drove around and saw this little kid playing and I asked him if he had seen a small grey and white dog running around.

He said, “Oh, like the one down at Accent Tire?”  I said “Thank you” because I knew the people at Accent tire and knew they didn’t have a grey and white dog.  So I drove two blocks down the road and parked in front of Accent Tire store and walked up the sidewalk to go in and who do you think I saw laying in the front office soaking up the a/c?

When I walked in the bell on the door chimed and JD lazily looked up and just put his head back down but then he jerked it back into a double-take when he realized it was me.  Busted!  I asked the lady in the office why she didn’t call me and tell me JD was there and she said she didn’t want to wake him up!  He was enjoying himself so much.

See, JD was not laying there dreaming of me or his job down at the hot feed store.  He was dreaming of the secretary giving him more jelly donuts.  Yes, she told me later she had given him jelly donuts.  I couldn’t believe it.  JD had no faith that I would walk in and find him there and so he was being disobedient thinking he would get away with it.

Joseph, on the other hand, along with all those others mentioned in Hebrews 11 dreamed, longed and hoped for the day the Messiah would come and so they kept themselves righteous, having great faith that any day their dream would come true and they wanted to be found worthy.  Joseph was righteous because of his faith.

Joseph was chosen by God because of God’s grace but also because Joseph had put himself in position to receive that grace just like Mary had.  From Joseph’s point of view this first Christmas was his dream come true even if it started out so unbelievably.  From Joseph’s point of view that took a lot of faith.  How about you?  Do you have faith?

“Oh, amen, pastor!  I have lots of faith!”  Do you?  How do we know?  How do you know if you have faith?  Look at verse 24 and we will see proof of Joseph’s faith and we will see how we, too, can prove our faith.  It says, “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him.”  When Joseph woke up he was obedient and he was immediately obedient.

Thomas a Kampis said, “Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience. Whoever strives to withdraw from obedience, withdraws from Grace.”  It was God’s grace that allowed Joseph to be the legal father of the Christ-child but, again, Joseph put himself in a place to receive that grace by being instantly obedient.

Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in '71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn't call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.  Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."

“Harmony…fulfillment…victory.”  Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?  Well, since God is not going to ask you to be obedient by taking the virgin Mary to be your wife like He did with Joseph, what is He asking you to do?  Yea, sure, there’s the 10 Commandments.  We should all obey those.  Don’t have idols.  Don’t kill.  Don’t steal.  Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.  Can I please stop right there and take a quick time-out?  This is not the Christmas story from Joseph’s point of view but I think he would agree that unless you are talking to God or about God…don’t use his name.  Saying OMG is a sin.  Stop it!  Ok, thank you.  Time in.

But I want you to realize how much more there is to being obedient to God than just following the 10 Commandments.  Having a relationship with God through His Son Jesus means that there is communication between you.  Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."”

That’s the voice of the Holy Spirit inside you telling you what to do, where to go and what to say.  Are you being obedient to that word from God?  Are you close enough to God to hear Him?  Being close to Him means you are righteous.  You are obedient.  What is there that God is telling you to do?  It may be some big thing that changes the world or it may be some small thing that changes you into someone more like Jesus.

Joseph had a dream and he was close enough to God to hear what he was supposed to do.  He believed God’s word and he was obedient to it.  It sounds simple and it actually is but you can’t even do that without God’s help.  It starts with having faith that the little baby born to those two young people was and is still God and that He lived, died, was buried and after 3 days was raised back to life.

Ask Him into your life today to be Lord and Savior; to forgive you of your sin.  You need to repent of that sin; turn away from it and accept His forgiveness and when you do your dream will start to become more and more like Abraham’s and Moses and Simeon…and Joseph.  That’s my dream for you today.  I want you to see Jesus.

“A Christmas Point of View” – Mary – Luke 1

Her Diary:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you, too.' When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed.

About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.



His Diary:

Motorcycle won't start, can't figure out why.

That cracks me up because there is so much reality there, isn’t there?  Ladies, most men are not that difficult to figure out.  Most of the time if you want to know what a man is thinking all you have to do is ask and you will get a short, concise answer.  Men, if you want a short, concise answer from women what do you do?  No, really, I’m asking because I don’t know.  J

I did some research (I googled it) and found that scientists have actually discovered what women want.  It was a great break-through except that the women immediately changed their minds.  So, guys, we may never know.  But that’s ok.  It won’t be for a lack of them trying to tell us. 

As we head into the Christmas season full steam I thought it would be good to know what the main characters in the first Christmas were thinking so we are going to look at Christmas from the point of view of Mary, Joseph and then Jesus Himself.  Today we look from the point of view of Mary, the mother of Jesus in Luke chapter 1.

Dr. Luke wrote this book mainly by interviewing the people involved first-hand so that he would be able to know exactly what happened.  So, when we read the Christmas story in his book, you know it is true and that it happened to the people just like they said so we know as well as we can what they were thinking and what their point of view actually was.

The first time we read anything about Mary is in this story and you need to know that at this point Mary is probably between 12 and 14 years old.  She’s just a little girl but we can ascertain that she was raised in a good Jewish home from the tribe of Judah, a virgin and a descendent of King David.  Those are all important things to remember about her as we look at Luke 1:26-38.

²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” ³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.” ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

In spite of Gabriel’s well-meaning and sincere attempt to comfort her, I can’t imagine Mary not being scared and she had at least two good reasons to be scared.  The first reason is that she has an angel standing in front of her.  We sometimes have this vision of angels as the little fairy on our shoulders or as the cute and chubby little cherubs we see in paintings but they can evidently take almost any form, sometimes with the appearance of a man or sometimes dazzling white like those at the empty tomb.

Whatever Gabriel looked like, it would be enough to scare anybody.  But the other thing I think of that might have scared her was Gabriel’s message.  Yes, he started out by saying that she was highly favored there in verse 28 but then he basically tells her, “Hey, good news!  You’re going to have a baby.”  Well, that is kind of a big deal in and of itself, right?  Just that would scare most people but Gabriel continued on.  “Oh, don’t worry.  You are just being charged with carrying and raising the Savior of the world.  That’s all.”

Gee, Gabe, I don’t know if I want to be “highly favored.”  I don’t know why God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus.  Just add that to the long list of things I don’t know but while there were some things definitely in her favor, like being a descendent of David and being a virgin, it boils down to grace.  That’s what that word “favored” means.  In the Greek it is “charis” which simply means grace.  Mary was “highly graced.”

You know that grace means to receive unmerited favor.  Whatever good things Mary had going for her, it was only by God’s favor - that she did not deserve - that He chose her.  Mary experienced the grace of God.  GW Knight said, “When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award--yet receives such a gift anyway--that is a good picture of God's unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.”

Mary experienced that unmerited favor of God.  Maybe some of you can relate to that.  Maybe some of you can testify like Mary that sometimes God’s grace can be painful for a time.  I’m sure Mary was scared of what Gabriel was telling her because she knew this was going to be pretty hard to explain and that even her soon-to-be-husband Joseph might not understand.  That would be pretty scary for a teenage girl who knew that the penalty for adultery could be death.  Yeah, thanks a lot Gabriel.

But not only did Mary experience the grace of God but she also believed the word of God.  Now, I’m proud of Mary for just being able to think and say anything to Gabriel but in verse 34 she asks a very good question.  It wasn’t a question of doubt.  It was just a question of not understanding how it would happen.

Then in verse 35 Gabriel answers her question.  ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  (Repeat)  I have to admit something.  I don’t know what that means.  I don’t understand that.  Oh, I looked all through the commentaries and checked what other people had to say about that but it still doesn’t really explain how a virgin can have a baby.

I found it fascinating that the phrases “will come on you” and “will overshadow you” are also the same phrase used in Exodus 40 to describe how the glory of the Lord filled the temple.  Mary’s body had become something like the Holy of Holies and the symbolism of that is pretty incredible for it was in the Holy of Holies that the sacrifice of atonement was found.  It was where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled and where the mercy seat was kept. 

I don’t know if Mary could comprehend all of that while standing there talking to that shining warrior Gabriel but evidently Mary didn’t have to know all the details.  She just believed.  She believed the word of God.  What Gabriel said was enough.  I say all the time that truth is enough and when someone hears the truth of God it ought to be enough. 

When you hear that God hates divorce that ought to be enough to keep your marriage together.  When God says to be holy and different that ought to be enough to change the way you talk and where you go and what you watch.  When you read that six days you shall do your labor but the seventh is a Sabbath to the Lord and to keep it holy that ought to be enough to keep you from working on Sunday.

It was pure grace that God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus and to be highly favored even to this day.  It was grace that He used her to raise up the Baby of all babies.  Mary didn’t do anything to deserve it but she did put herself in the place to be blessed with that grace.  She kept herself pure.  She made herself holy and when God wanted to dispense grace, there was Mary, a willing and proper vessel for that grace.

The older I get the more I realize that everything we have and everything we are and everything we will ever know is just from God’s grace.  But, as I may have said here before a time or two, there are blessings of obedience and consequences of disobedience and when someone like Mary – or you – experiences the grace of God and believes the word of God, God then pours out even more grace so that you will be able to know and accomplish the will of God.

Now, from Mary’s point of view, the will of God was pretty obvious.  He sent an angel to tell her.  He may not have been real specific but there was no denying what God’s will was for her life.  Don’t you wish God would do that for you every now and then?  You have to be careful with angels though.  I have a female cousin who met an angel one time and she begged the angel to make her irresistible to men and now she’s a Corvette.  So, I’m just saying be careful with those angels.

That was bad.  Anyway, not many people are told by an angel what the will of God is for their lives like Mary was, so how do we know?  How do we find out the will of God?  Well, we are told in Romans 12:1-2.  It says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Mary’s body had literally become a living sacrifice.  She was holy and pleasing to God and God showed her His will and He will do the same for you.  He will probably not send you an angel.  He will probably reveal it to you from His Word, the Bible, and then confirm it through the presence and peace of the Holy Spirit that is living inside you if you are a true believer in Him.

But it won’t happen if you are already out of His will.  If there is unconfessed sin in your life then that puts up a barrier between you and God and He will not give you further instructions if you don’t obey what He has already told you.  If you say you believe the Word of God but you don’t obey what His Word says then that is being a hypocrite and that is not God’s will nor will He give you answers to your prayers if you are conforming to the pattern of this world.

He insists that you be different from this world.  1 Peter 1:13-16 says, “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 

So there is obviously a correlation between being holy and experiencing grace from God.  Maybe it was easier for Mary than it is for you today.  I don’t know.  I’m about as far as possible from being able to relate to what a young girl might have gone through 2000-plus years ago and so many miles away but it was still a choice.  Mary still had to make the choice to see God’s grace and not call it something else.  She had to make the choice to believe what God told her through the angel and she most certainly had to make the choice to be holy and to let her body be a living sacrifice to Holy God.

*Bring out clean glass*

It was only when Mary had realized she had experienced the grace of God and when she made the choice to believe the Word of God that she was able to accomplish the will of God.  When we come to God as a clean vessel and with a pure heart, He can fill us up with His grace and we can be used mightily just like Mary was to accomplish God’s will.

*Bring out filthy glass*

But when you come to God and your vessel looks just like all the other filthy vessels of the world you can’t expect God to use you like He will if you were clean.  Yes, it is only by God’s grace that He doesn’t just throw that nasty cup in the trash and get another.  But if you want to be used by God and to accomplish His will in this world then you can’t look like the world.  You have to be holy.  You have to be different and set apart.  There is no other way.

That starts with a relationship with God through His Son Jesus.  Repent or turn away from your sins.  Ask God to forgive you of those sins and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life and to make you holy and watch how you receive the grace of God.  Then believe what He says in His Word and you will be used by God to accomplish His will.  Do that today.