When God Comes Calling

he was an impressive man

in his fifties, he was the vice-president of a multinational corporation

he had a nice family, and was by all accounts a success in his career and in his life

he was raised in a small town in the Midwest, where he was active in sports, a good student, and a choirboy

he went on to college where he was also active in a number of clubs and programs

then came his first big job, marriage, a child, traveling abroad, promotions, a new home, another child, and finally promotion to vice-president

but this man, by all accounts successful, had a problem

listen to his problem, in his own words:

"The problem is that my life is full of good things - a nice house, a nice car, a good job, a busy life…

"As I began to think about what really matters most to me, I suddenly realized that over these past years, that feeling, that sense of purpose, has somehow gotten lost. I've been lulled by a sense of security. I haven't made a difference. I've basically been watching life go by through the hedges of my country club."

here was a man who was a success, but when you look at the bottom line of his life, he was not making a significant contribution to God, to others, or to the world

although he had success outwardly, he identified that he was missing out on something significant in his life

his life was not making a difference

she was a young girl, perhaps as young as twelve years old

she lived in an obscure village in a humble, agrarian area

although she was only a young teenager, possibly as young as twelve years old, she was pregnant out of wedlock

a scandalous situation for a young, unmarried teenager to be in

compared to the rich executive, she had little wealth or position, no security, but she did have the stigma of society's disapproval

yet she had something far greater

listen to what she said:

(Luke 1:46) "My soul glorifies the Lord

(Luke 1:47) and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

(Luke 1:48) for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,

(Luke 1:49) for the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name."

this young, peasant girl's name was Mary

I'd like to ask you to open your Bibles to Luke 1

I like to learn from people

when I see someone admirable, I try to learn from their example

and when I see someone make mistakes, I like to learn from how that person went wrong

what I'd like to do this morning is to look at Mary, Jesus' mother

I believe that Mary reflects the person whom God unexpectedly chooses to use

I think that the character of Mary is worthy of study

because although the events that take place in her life are unique, her attitudes are held up in this passage as exemplary and worthy of praise

so let's look at Mary and try to learn from her

my goal is, that the end of the sermon, each of us will commit to emulating Mary's example

the first lesson is that

GOD USES US IN SPITE OF OUR LACK OF CREDENTIALS

as we look at Mary, the first thing we have to notice is her lack of outstanding credentials

Mary really has nothing outstanding to offer God

she has no special skills or merit or value

in other words, God doesn't choose Mary because of her merit, God chooses Mary because of his grace

now before you shoot me on this, let me explain

over the years, Mary has become venerated as the mother of God

some teach that you can actually pray to Mary

some even teach that Mary was free from sin, but Scripture nowhere teaches this

if you strip away all the centuries of tradition and look at the Mary that Scripture presents, really she had no outstanding credentials to offer God

she was from an obscure village in an out-of-the way place

(Luke 1:26) In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,

Mary is found north of the capital city, Jerusalem, in an obscure village

Galilee was not a respected region, was hardly the expected locale for one sent from God

if we were to prepare for the coming of the King of Kings, we probably wouldn't have picked such an obscure location to find a mother

she wasn't that old

(Luke 1:27) to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke identifies her as being a virgin, engaged to Joseph

at that time, a Jewish betrothal involved two steps: the formal engagement, which included a contract and exchange of a bridal price, and then a year later, a wedding

to break off an betrothal would actually be tantamount to a divorce

but yet in this betrothal period, no sexual activity took place, even though you were considered husband and wife

now, Mary's age is not given, but in this culture it could be as young as twelve

I'm careful about who baby-sits our daughter Christina, and I would have to think long and hard before I ever let a twelve-year old baby-sit my little girl

but here God entrusts the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to a young teenager in a remote area in a hostile world

we read that Mary was a virgin, that she had remained sexually pure, but other than that, there is nothing special about her

she had no outstanding credentials on her resume to offer God

verse 28 talks about Mary being "highly favored," but this refers to her receiving God's grace on the basis of his sovereign action, but because she had earned God's favor

when I was a kid in school, we would play in the playground

if we wanted to play a sport, two captains would be picked

these captains would look over the rest of us, and then they would take turns picking their team, based on strength, agility, and skill

they picked the strongest and the best first

and those of us who were picked last sure knew our place in the scheme of things

there's a myth that God picks the brightest and the best

but he doesn't - he picks those with little on their resumes

the fact of the matter is that we too have few credentials to offer God

but that's good, because we're just the sort of people God uses

out of the way, young perhaps, but God can use us

Paul the apostle tells us just the sort of person God chooses

(1 Corinthians 1:26) Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

(1 Corinthians 1:27) But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

(1 Corinthians 1:28) He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are,

(1 Corinthians 1:29) so that no one may boast before him.

God has a history of choosing under-qualified people, so that when the job gets done they can't take credit for it

God chooses usual people to do unusual things so that everyone knows that when things take place, it's not the usual person who's responsible, it's our unusual God

you don't need the looks of a model, or the intelligence to belong to Mensa

you don't need the eloquence of an orator or the talent to win contest

the fact of the matter is that we have little to offer God

even if you are incredibly skilled or talented, we have little to offer God

but God uses us anyway

the thing I learn from Mary is this next lesson:

ABOUT THE ONLY THING WE CAN OFFER GOD IS OUR AVAILABILITY AND WILLINGNESS

these were the only things that Mary could offer God

Mary reflects the proper response to God, with no other credentials that availability and a responsive heart

she is the Lord's servant, and so are we if we trust him

God's servants have the right attitude and perspective to accomplish great things for God if they say:

"Use me as you will. I will not refrain from serving because I do not feel qualified or usable."

God's servants say, "I'm available. Use me as you will"

imagine being responsible to hire someone for an important task

you receive resumes and arrange for interviews

you notice that all the resumes list the education, experience, and qualifications of every candidate

except for one

in this one resume, you notice that under "education" it says: none

under "experience" it says: none

but the resume does say one thing: I'm willing and available

you and I wouldn't hire this person

but God would

in reality all we can offer God is our availability and our willingness

because nothing else we have is of value to him

God doesn't need your skills, God doesn't need your ability

but he's willing to take someone who's fully available

you know, after this stewardship program, someone was mentioning to me that she was led to think about tithing her time

she pointed out to me that we usually think of giving God money, but what about tithing our time?

what if we thought of serving God with a tenth of our time?

personally, I'd be happy if we all served God in his body 1% of our time

1% of our time is 100 minutes a week

do you know how different our church would be if everyone made themselves available to serve God for 100 minutes a week?

Mary made herself available to serve God in a way that many of us don't

Mary also teaches us that

SERVING GOD COSTS US SOMETHING

Mary's response in verse 38 shows us her character:

(Luke 1:38) "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

what Mary was agreeing to was no simple matter

she was being asked to bear a child as a virgin without being married

in standing up for God and his power, she probably was the object of much doubt and ridicule

nobody would believe her story about the angel and the virgin birth

but Mary knows she is God's servant, and so she let God work through her as He willed

God could place her in whatever difficult circumstance he desired, for she knew that God was with her

if you've heard of Bill Hybels, you know him as a famous pastor of a megachurch near Chicago

what you don't know is what he had to give up to serve God

Bill's family operated a wholesale produce company in Michigan

all his life, his father had prepared him to assume a position of leadership in the company

and with it came a lot of frills and toys

when he graduated from college, he began work in his father's business and made a ton of money

and then came a leading from the Holy Spirit

the director of a Christian camp asked him, "What are you doing with your life that will last forever?"

the question haunted Hybels

he realized that without the planes and boats and fast cars, he had little to give his life meaning

finally, he decided that he would serve God more directly on the front lines of the spiritual battle

and so he approached his father and told him of his decision

his father said, "Fine, Bill. Now turn in your credit cards, and your keys to the plane, the boat, and the cars. And don't entertain any ideas of coming back."

Hybels got a job in the shipping department of a Christian organization, standing between two middle-aged women, stuffing little plastic awards in cellophane wrappers

and then he took a job teaching a Bible study for a group of teenagers

it was a full-time job for part-time pay

the youth group grew from about fifty kids to over one thousand in three years

just about then, God really blessed him: he got married and he received a pay raise

with a successful ministry, decent pay, and a sense of stability, what more could he want?

then came a new calling from the Holy Spirit to start a new church

but to start a church, he had to trade the known for the unknown

he writes:

"I was twenty-three; most of us who wanted to start the church didn't know anybody over thirty. We had no money, experience, people, facility, elders, location, or demographic studies…you get the idea. All we did have was willingness and availability, and I wasn't too sure how they would stack up against the obvious possibility of failure."

and so he quit his job

he bought a cracker box house and furnished it with garage sale giveaways

in order to survive financially, they took in boarders, sold possessions, and his wife taught the flute

they sometimes never knew where the next meal or mortgage payment was coming from

and things got worse

early in the life of the church, one of the cofounders of the church left and was divorced within a year

with his departure, others in the church core departed

his father died, his wife miscarried, and his marriage began to disintegrate

it was then that Hybels spent an entire night face down on the living room floor pleading for forgiveness, for one more chance

he told God he would do it his way

for God to use Bill Hybels meant that he had to give up the keys to the corporate jet, to the fast cars

he had to lose status and security and wealth and income and certainty

and finally his spirit had to be broken

you see, serving God always costs something

I don't know what it's going to cost you

it might be your reputation, or income, or security

but Mary was willing to pay the price

are you?

one final lesson:

MARY TRUSTED GOD TO OVERCOME HER LIMITATIONS

Mary's response is one of trust

God simply promises to use her and be with her in the journey, and she responds by being willing to go on the ride

with God's grace behind her, Mary knows that she can do what God asks

Mary didn't come with an inferiority complex, because there was no need

she didn't argue with God as Moses did, telling him that she was under-qualified

God already knew that

what she did was realize that God would help her overcome whatever limitations she brought to the effort

Mary is a portrait of going wherever God leads, knowing that he will supply whatever is lacking

she had an attitude that trusted God for enablement and direction

think again of that executive I mentioned at the beginning

he had wealth, he had prestige and influence, he had everything a person could ask for, and yet he had nothing

he was a picture of success as the world defines it

and yet he had a terrible emptiness inside his soul

now think of Mary

a pregnant, unmarried teenager

she had nothing to offer God except her willingness and availability

and God used her

now, God isn't going to come to any of us with the same job that he gave Mary

but God is calling all of us to his service

Ephesians 4:7-16 teach that God has called all believers to minister within the body of Christ

God's call to all of us is for a proper response to this call

Mary's response was this:

(Luke 1:38) "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."

what's your response?

are you filled with excuses?

are you unavailable for God to use you?

are you unwilling to sacrifice for God?

are you unwilling to let God enable you and lead you, to make up for what you're lacking?

Father,

no angel is appearing to us this morning

Gabriel isn't commissioning us for some great task

but you are calling us to serve you in some way that's unique

many of us are like that executive, outwardly successful but inwardly empty

but most of us know the calling or burden you have placed on us to serve you

like Mary, we have nothing to offer you except our availability and willingness

but like Mary, we come to you and accept your assignment

we announce today that we're available

we announce today that we're willing to sacrifice

we announce today that we're willing to trust you to overcome our limitations

DashHouse.com

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When God Comes Calling (Luke 1:26-38)