On Sunday, I encouraged us to have a “Mary Christmas” by doing the same things Mary did as she experienced that first Christmas!
1. Obey God fully. Luke 1:38 and Isaiah 48:17-18
As I read verse 38 where Mary says, “May it be to me as you have said” I hear her say, “I’m all in.” I see an immediate readiness on her part to be used of God in the ways God had designed. When we walk in obedience to God it takes us to a place of peace. Isaiah 48:17-18 say, 17 This is what the LORD says– your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. 18 If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river…
We want the miracle of God without giving our obedience to Him. It doesn’t work that way. When we go all-in with Him, however, generations are blessed in and through His work in us.
2. Seek the Kingdom of God wholeheartedly. Luke 1:32-33 and Matthew 6:33
Look at Luke 1:32-33 where the angel said to Mary, 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 the house of Jacob forever; HIS KINGDOM will never end.”
Mary understood that what was at stake wasn’t merely the changing of her body or the altering of her life’s plans, but it was about the Kingdom of God. It was much greater than herself. It was about an everlasting Kingdom and a King named Jesus who would never cease to reign. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Seek first. Christmas is about the coming of a King who ushered in an eternal Kingdom. That has to be our priority. Kingdom expansion. Kingdom living. Those are the priority of every believer at Christmastime and every day of the year.
3. Think Kingdom thoughts intentionally. Luke 2:19 and Philippians 4:6-7
The biblical account of the Christmas story talks about Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem at the request of the government, angelic announcements to multiple people, a supernaturally bright star, Wise Men traveling from the east to come and worship Jesus, shepherds being invited to come to the cradle of the Christ-child and King Herod seeking to kill the young baby Jesus. Luke 2:19 tells us Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. She wasn’t going to experience it without trying to put the pieces together. She wasn’t just going to go through life’s happenings, but she wanted God to be formed in her because of them. She wanted God’s perspective on what was happening to her and around her. She pondered what had happened and what was happening and what would happen and she allowed those experiences to take root in her heart.
Living thoughtfully is to live with the purpose of seeing things from God’s perspective. There are NO coincidences in the Kingdom of God. What happens to us has purpose and value. It means something.
4. Live Devotedly. Romans 12:2
Romans 12:1-2 talk about presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord. Mary obviously did that. To experience pregnancy is to internalize what it means to be a living sacrifice on a whole new level! Your life is no longer your own. There is a big difference between saying you are a Christian and living as a disciple of Jesus. If we are going to follow Jesus as disciples we must learn to die to ourselves. We are no longer our own. We follow in the footsteps of the One who has purchased us with His blood. His desires become our desires. He leads us into places that are sometimes smelly, uncomfortable, awkward, and just plain weird. And He has authority to disrupt our lives and to interject His will whenever He desires. That is what it means to be a living sacrifice. We choose to be available to God 24/7 and 365 days out of the year. Mary’s life wasn’t her own. She was the servant of the Lord.
5. Follow God Humbly. Luke 1:47-48 and Psalm 96:6-7
God works through those who humble themselves before Him. Mary had a humble spirit. Even in her time of worship that was recorded in Luke 1:47-48 she talked about being blown away by God’s desire to connect with her. We read: My spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,
Mary’s calling was hard. Most of us would pass on having her assignment, thinking it’s too hard, but what we need to understand this morning is that whatever God calls us to do, He enables us to do by His grace.
Proverbs 3:34 tells us God gives grace to the humble. What that means is, God will enable you to do things you couldn’t ever picture yourself doing. His grace includes strength that is equal for the task, equipping you for the work, or His grace includes a miracle that makes it Him doing the work instead of you.
If you think God is calling you to something, don’t resist it, just get out of the way. Get low. Bow down and worship the Lord for His desire to do a work in and through your life.
Those who are highly favored of God are those who have wholly and humbly given themselves to His Lordship.
God isn’t looking for those who think they are important or who have been declared by society to be special. He isn’t searching for those who seem impressive or influential. He desires to infuse His life and power into those who are willing to bow down and worship Him with their lives.
