Dec 8, 1996 11 min read old-sermon

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

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

Darryl Dash

I'm a grateful husband, father, oupa, and pastor of Grace Fellowship Church East Toronto. I love learning, writing, and encouraging. I'm on a lifelong quest to become a humble, gracious old man.

Toronto, Canada

Darryl Dash

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