If you will, turn with me to
Luke chapter 1. I don't mean this in a negative
way, but Luke is a wordy writer. He was a doctor and was well-schooled
in the languages. He, and I understand that he's
inspired by the Holy Ghost, but Luke, he doesn't leave out a
single detail. Now he was a kind of a partner,
if you will, or a helper for the Apostle Paul. And in fact,
he was with Paul until he died. He never would leave his side.
He said, Demas is gone, and all the other ones have gone. They've
had to go their way. Only Luke is with me. Luke stayed
with him till he died. And Luke was influenced heavily
by Paul. And Paul was just tenacious for
detail. And so that's how I find Luke's
gospel. His chapters are 60, 70 verses
long, some of them. So if you think I'm having a
little bit too many verses in it, it's not that. It's just
that that's how Luke writes. So last week we looked at his
declaration about John and we saw the necessity of his coming
and the reason for his coming and the fulfillment of the scriptures
in his coming. This morning I want us to see
a few things about the most prominent figure not only in the Word of
God but in the history of man and in all creation and in glory
itself, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's begin reading in Luke 1,
26. And in the sixth month, the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth. To a virgin, a spouse to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's
name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her
and said, Hail, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was
troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation
this should be. Now just imagine yourself, you're
an 18-year-old girl. And one of the elite angels,
Gabriel, suddenly appears before you and tells you you're gonna
have the Christ. He's got news from God. You're highly favored of God.
Now this is what was being said to her. And the angel said unto
her, fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive
in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name
Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the son of the highest And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall
be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel,
how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered
and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth,
she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the
sixth month with her who is called barren. For with God nothing
shall be impossible. Now, everything that we believe,
don't you listen to me, everything that we believe, all of our hopes,
if you have a hope today based on the Lord Jesus Christ, that's
what I'm talking about, all of our hopes, All that we preach,
all that we do is in and by and for and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Without him, we're nothing. We're
nothing. It all rests on him. And what
the God of glory is telling this young Jewish maiden is that the
Son of God was gonna robe himself in human flesh And from a tiny
seed found in her, put there by the Holy Ghost, would be fashioned
as a man in her womb, and nine months later be born into this
wicked world. And you're going to call him
the Son of God. That's a lot for an 18-year-old,
isn't it? Or however old she was. I'm just guessing, 18. That's
a lot. That's a lot. The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow
thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of
thee shall be called the Son of God. Now you think what Gabriel's
telling this young girl. As far back as testimony is recorded,
and Moses goes all the way back to creation, by the power of
the Holy Ghost, and records everything, all of the lineage, the days,
the creation, who created, what he created, the flood of Noah,
all these things. As far back as the testimony
of God is written, the virgin birth is set before men. All the way back in Genesis 3.15,
that's the first. He said, your seed, the woman's
seed, The woman's seed. Woman don't have a seed. This
one did. This one did, it's put there
by the Holy Ghost. In Isaiah, he said, therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall
conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel, God with
us. Every prophecy of the Old Testament
scriptures concerning the coming Messiah was about to be manifested
and God chose Mary to bring it to pass. Gabriel said, thou art
highly favored. Now I'm gonna tell you something.
When I first learned just a little bit, just a tiny little bit about
who God is, All of them scriptures that talked about God being with
us, God coming to us, the Lord Jesus finding that lost sheep
and cradling it in his arms, and I think about me and what
I am as nothing, less than nothing. It was hard for me to believe
that the living God would show favor to me. Now that's what Mary, this angel
standing there talking to her, telling her that she's highly
favored of God. And she's casting in her mind
about what kind of salutation is this? I've never heard this. No priest ever told me this.
No preacher ever told me this. I read nothing in the scriptures
about this. Oh my soul, the very glory of
God is about to be manifested by this child which shall be
born of you. What's he saying? He's saying
the only hope, the only hope for man is in this child that's
in your womb. That's what he's saying. Now let me remind you that most
Jews believed in the coming of Messiah, but they believed he'd
be born of natural generation as was David and Moses and all
these other men. And that this deliverance that
the Lord was talking about would be accomplished by him exactly
like that of Moses and David. They'd just be a man, but the
Lord would work with them and through them and accomplish these
things. And so Mary was troubled by what she heard, and she said,
how should this be? How can this be? I'm a spouse to a husband, but
we're not married. I know what the angel was thinking.
This is not something you and your husband are going to do.
This is something God's gonna do in you. And most people, when
they hear the gospel, that's what they think. This is something between the
preacher and them, the preacher and them. No, no, it's something
God's gonna do in you. That's what that is. That's what
that is. I'm just a messenger, just a
messenger. If Jesus of Nazareth, is not
the virgin-born Son of God, then he's not the Christ. He's not the Savior. He's not
the Lord of glory. And his life, death, and resurrection
is of no consequence if he's not the virgin-born Son of God. John said every spirit, now I
want you to listen. He said try the spirits whether
they be of God. He said every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. He's not of God. And this is
that spirit of antichrist whereof you heard that it should come.
Verse John four and verse three. Salvation with man is impossible. That's why Mary said, how shall
these things be? It's an impossibility. We cannot,
by our obedience, our intellect, our determination or will, reconcile
ourselves to God or produce what God demands from man. From Genesis
to Malachi, God has shown us this, both in plain declaration
and by ceremonial types and figures. You cannot worship God without
a substitute. You cannot worship God without
blood. You cannot worship God apart
from faith. Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. You have to have a high priest
appointed for you and a sacrifice of blood to atone and a representative
and substitute to stand in your place. Everything hangs on this. And then just think about this. And you apply, all you that are
here this morning and believe, you just apply this to yourself.
Thou art highly favored. of God. If you weren't, he wouldn't
have sent you a messenger. If you weren't, he wouldn't have
created Christ in you. If you weren't, he'd never allow
you to know these mysteries. He'd leave you to wander around
in your own imaginations, find whatever pleased your flesh,
whatever your appetite desired, and that's where he'd leave you
until you woke up at judgment. Thou art highly favored of God. And then the second thing I want
you to see is that God manifests his name in this promised womb. Verse 31, down there at the end. Behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus. Jesus is the New Testament name
for the Old Testament Joshua. Joshua. Well, who was Joshua? Joshua led Israel into the promised
land. That's who Joshua is. Joshua,
it says in the scriptures, led them into that promised rest.
That promised rest. All this promised land They went
in and took it from the Gentiles, what God had given them by promise
and by oath. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. Who's he gonna
save? His people. His people. Verse 32. He shall be called
the son of the highest. the son of the highest. In Isaiah 9, 6, it says, and
his name shall be called Wonderful. We're talking about this, what
was then when the angel was standing there, hadn't even been conceived
yet, but it was gonna be. And being an angel without sin,
he believed God, he treated that exactly as though that child
was born ready. And in this child, God's going
to manifest the glory of his name. That's why he has all of
these variations in his name. His name should be called Wonderful.
He's full of wonder. Huh? Everything he does is wonderful. His righteousness is wonderful.
My soul, my righteousnesses are as filthy rags, like the pus-covered
rag of a leper. His righteousness is without
flaw. It's wonderful. It's equal with
God. His name shall be called wonderful. His nature, His work, His ministry,
His love, His mercy, His grace is altogether wonderful. Is there
anything about Christ that's not wonderful? And then he says his name is
Counselor. He carries in his bosom and in
his hands all the counsel of God. If you read Revelations
5 carefully, the one who sat on the throne had a book and
that book was sealed with seven seals. And the elders around there wept
because none were found worthy to take the book. They couldn't
even take the book, let alone unloose the seals and look in
the book. They couldn't even take the book
from him that sat on the throne, but one was found worthy. You think on this now. What is
this book? This is all God's counsels and
decrees. This is God's sovereign purpose
and will in this book, but that book's sealed. And you have to
find one worthy to unloose the seals. And one was found, the
lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He came and took
the book. And the one on the throne handed
it to him, willingly. And he took it. And he unloosed
the seals. And he opened the book. And he
looked on the book. And my friend, I'm telling you,
this one born of Mary fulfilled everything in that book. He's the counselor and his name
shall be the mighty God. The mighty God. God our Savior,
that's what Paul said. God our Savior. Why is he called the mighty God?
Because his power is irresistible. He saves whom he will. There
is no what about. If he sets his eye on you to
save you, Brian, you couldn't resist him. I don't care what
you did. You couldn't resist him. He's
irresistible. He's the mighty God. And earth
and hell couldn't stop him. Pilate said, you're not going
to answer me? Don't you know I have power to
set you free and I have power to crucify you? And he said,
you had no power at all. You don't have any power, except
that which my father gave you. That's all the power you got.
Don't you think if I wanted to, I could call for 10,000 legions
of angels and my father would have them here before you could
bat an eye? Oh, His name is the Everlasting
Father. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, my soul, in the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And His name, Isaiah said, shall be called the Prince of Peace.
And no peace apart from Him. and he's the Lord. He'd been
given the throne of David, and he's gonna reign over the house
of Jacob forever. That's what Gabriel said. God's name is in this tiny seed,
and to know his name and to call upon it is to be, that's salvation.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
None other name among men given whereby we must be saved. That
name declared, you're going to call on him. Not another Jesus. Not poor little Jesus boy. Can't
do anything. His hands is tied. He can't walk.
He can't do anything. Has no mouth but your mouth,
no feet but your feet, no hands but your hands. That's what they're
saying. That's not this one. God's name is in him and there's
none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. And
then the third thing I want you to see here in these verses is
that all that is said and done here is a beautiful illustration
of how God shall save every sinner. Every sinner. He begins by sending
his messenger. That's what he does. He crosses
your path with his messenger. He's going to bring you two together.
And he's going to tell you what God said. And he's going to work
in your heart so that you hear him. And for the first time in
your life, you're going to understand that here is a man standing in
that pulpit or standing before me or wherever he is. He's standing
there and he's telling me something about the word of God and now
it makes sense. I see it. Well, why didn't you
see it before? You read it a thousand times. He begins with his messenger
and he tells you what God has done and what God is doing and
what God's gonna do. And then by the power of God,
the Holy Spirit creates Christ in you. Isn't that how man's
saved? He creates Christ in him. Born
again, not of corruptible semen, but incorruptible by the word
of God. And this is the word, Peter said,
which by the gospel is preached unto you. He puts that seed in
you. Isn't that what he did to Mary? His presence in you is what determines
your blessedness of God. Blessed art thou among women. That's what he told her. Now listen to me. Mary and Joseph
had done nothing. They had nothing. They were poor. When it come time to bring the
lamb, they couldn't afford a lamb. They had to bring turtle doves
and pigeons. It was a clause in the word of
God. But they were blessed of God.
Highly faithful. You know, boy, that man's blessed. He has $10 million. I don't make
him blessed. Uh-uh. Does he have the grace of God?
Does he know the Son of God? That's what determines his blessings.
Does God love me? You ever ask yourself that? Huh? Does God love me? Will he keep me? Will he provide for me? Am I
truly blessed of God? I am and he will if Christ be
within. That's what determines a man's
blessedness of God. I'm highly favored of God. I
am if I've received the good news of Christ. And then think about this. Mary
nurtured Jesus. She was his mother, this little
baby. She picked him up in her arms.
She nurtured him. She fed him. She clothed him.
She cared for him, held him. She nurtured him. And in a few
years, she found out that that little one that she nurtured
had been nurturing her before the foundation of the world. All my soul. I tell you, when
he created Christ in me, I nurtured that. Didn't you? There was nothing
more precious to me than that. I feared losing that so bad,
I'd weep at night. Oh, I didn't want to lose that.
I did not want to lose that. And I soon found that. I didn't
have it in my hands to keep, it's always been in his. Always
been in his. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them. And they follow me and I give
unto them eternal life and no man gonna pluck them out of my
hand. When it comes to us in the beginning,
we're just like Mary. How can this thing be? Didn't you wrestle with that,
boy? How can this be? How can I be righteous whose
righteousnesses are as filthy rags? How can I be forgiven who
has nothing with which to pay? How can I believe who am so ignorant
and powerless to do anything? Well, here's what God's messenger
told Mary in verse 37. With God, nothing shall be impossible. What we're reading here this
morning is exactly what happened in them that believe. Paul wrote
these words to the Galatian saints. He said, I travail in birth,
again. He feared for him. False prophets had come in, leading
him astray. And he wrote his letter to him,
his epistle to him. And then he said, I travail in
birth again until Christ be formed in you. And that's my hope every time
I stand up to preach. God's providence opens the doors. His spirit selects the object
he's favored. I simply deliver God's message
to him, knowing that what God has promised, he's able also
to perform. And I leave it there. You won't
find me back there at the back door trying to convince you of
something. Only God can convince you of
sin and of righteousness and of judgment. I can stand up here
and talk about it till I'm blue in the face. But he's the one
that's gonna make it come to pass. Gabriel didn't say to Mary, now,
if you conceive, that ain't what he said. He said, you're gonna
conceive. Thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and thou shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus. Oh, I pray that God be pleased
today to make this so in every one of us here. Thank you.