craigmanderson

Christmas MESSAGE     

GOD INSIDE OF YOU – THE ANGEL COMES TO MARY

Luke 1:26-36

26 Now in the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy] the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming to her, the angel said, “Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 31 Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and eminent and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin and have no intimacy with any man?” 35 Then the angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a cloud]; for that reason the holy (pure, sinless) Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 And listen, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.” 38 Then Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.

Let’s be honest everybody knows that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and it’s gotten all mixed up with the fables of St Nicolaus who turned into Santa Claus and became a red suited man who drives a sleigh through the air. It was obvious from the start right? – Not! No wonder some people think the Jesus part is a fable or fairy tale as well!! So let’s go back to the very beginning before all the add-ons and see where the truth started before all the junk was added.

By the way, the New Testament bible is the most accurate and clearly attested work of literature from the ancient world; in other words you can trust it!! (See http://pvc.podomatic.com/entry/2012-03-03T13_07_53-08_00)

Mary was probably about 16 years old, way too young to make decisions that will change the world forever, but that is the wonder of God that He chooses the things that are insignificant and unimportant to bring great influence demonstrating His mighty power. Mary was betrothed to Joseph which means their families had reached an agreement that they should be married at some time in the future; maybe a year or two later. The nature of betrothal was binding and should not be broken. To break it was the equivalent of divorce in our day.

Mary is suddenly confronted by an angel. This was not unknown in Jewish folk law, but nevertheless would have been very scary. Mary wonders about what this greeting means, “Favoured one”. You see Mary is a humble girl who isn’t full of herself. God uses humble people, He does not use proud people because they think of themselves as the answer. If I asked you, “Do you think you’re a humble person?” What would you say? If you said, “yes”, then you’re not humble. A humble person would say, “No or say, “Only God knows.”  Mary receives the news that she will be with child. This is both a wonder and terrifying at the same time. Mary sees the wonder of being chosen by God to carry the child who will be known as the saviour of the world, but, she is also terrified about becoming pregnant out of wedlock. She says, “I have not known a man.” She is not only confused about the mechanism of how this impregnation takes place, but she is fearful of the idea of becoming pregnant without any involvement with her betrothed. Being pregnant before marriage is probably adultery because the husband to be wasn’t involved. How do you explain that?

Mary is about to experience God on the inside. A life changing experience, and just like Mary, you too can have the true Christian experience of having Christ live within you. Becoming a Christian is experiencing being born again. It is Christ coming on the inside spiritually. (Gal 2:20 AMP) And like Mary, maybe for you having God on the inside is a wonder that you don’t really understand but also it might terrify you when you think about how others may take this news. For Mary it was God’s choosing, she didn’t choose to be the one and also for you it’s God’s choosing as well. If God is at work in your life, you will know about it because strange things begin to happen to gain your attention. But you realise that if you receive this God on the inside, it will change everything in your life, and you wonder if you are ready for all that?

Mary was young and innocent. She was open to God and humble, a perfect vessel for God to work a miracle within her. God spoke through an angel Gabriel and said to her “With God nothing is ever impossible.” Tonight it matters not how old you are, but it is important that you are open and humble for what God has chosen for your life. You may have had plans of what you wanted to do with your life. Grand plans to do and to be something that has inspired you, but God has an idea of what your life can become. Are you willing to look at that plan and choose to have God on the inside of your life? Really our lives are insignificant until we place them in God’s hands. But when we place our lives in God’s hands we become part of His eternal and very significant plan. God is real and you can experience the love and hope and power of Jesus Christ living within your life today by turning to Jesus now and leaving your sin behind and receiving Jesus.