Now, let's take our Bible and
find Luke chapter 1 one more time. Luke chapter 1. I'm taking the title for the
message from the words that Gabriel declares in verse 37 of Luke
chapter 1. For with God nothing shall be
impossible. With God all things are possible. In Jeremiah 32, Jeremiah's song
was this, Ah Lord God, behold thou hast made the heavens and
the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, there
is nothing too hard for thee. Nothing. I believe that. Faith never rests so calmly,
so peacefully, as when it lays its head on the pillow of God's
complete and sovereign power and sovereign grace." Remember
they came to David and said, David, where is your God? Remember
what he said? Our God is in the heavens. He
has done whatsoever He had pleased. And I like the testimony of Nebuchadnezzar
found in Daniel chapter 4. When he was unhorsed and put
in the dust and brokenhearted before God, he said, God is in
the heavens, and He has done whatsoever He has pleased. He
does according to His will in the army of heaven and among
the inhabitants of this earth, and none can stay His hand, or
none can say unto Him, Lord God Almighty, what doest Thou? No softer pillow on which a sinner
can rest his weary soul than to know and trust the Almighty
God." The Almighty God is the only God of this Bible. The Almighty God is the only
God who is worthy of all worship. The Almighty God who does all
things well, who does all things after the counsel of His own
will. The Almighty God who never makes a mistake. Everything he
does is right and on time to his glory. As Abraham said, shall
not the judge of all the earth do right? Yes, he will. He will do what is right and
everything he does is right. The Apostle Paul put it this
way, for of him and through him and to him are all things. to whom be glory both now and
forever." And then you know what it says? Amen. Amen. Now Gabriel had just declared
unto Mary this glorious message of the coming of the Messiah.
The God-Man, God Almighty incarnate, God Almighty in human flesh. He is the mediator. He is the
Savior. He is the only mediator between
God and men, that is, the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And make
no mistake, He came to save His people from their sin, and when
He died, He said, it's finished. He got the job done. He cannot
fail. Call His name exactly what it
is, Savior. Thou shalt call His name, you
see it in verse 30, Luke 1, Jesus. And I love the way that's written,
all capitals. And that name, you know what
it means? Savior. He is exactly what He is called.
And He has done exactly what God sent Him to do. He said,
I finished the work you gave Me to do. Now all this was done
according to the plain fulfillment of Holy Scripture. I want you
to hold your place here and find Isaiah 9. Can you find that? Isaiah chapter 9. Do you remember
the promise all the way back in the garden that God sounded
out in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15? I will put enmity between thee
and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the seed of woman. It shall bruise thy head, that
is, the Lord Jesus shall crush Satan's dominion, and thou shalt
bruise his heel, his humanity. And this is all according to
the Scripture. In Isaiah 7 we read this, Therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a son. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel, which means
God with us. And I told you to turn to Isaiah
9, look at verse 6. Unto us a child is born, unto
us sons given. A child was born. God made, but
this Son of the Eternal God, who is God Himself, is given.
God loved the world and gave His only begotten Son. Now look
carefully at Isaiah 9, 6. And the government shall be upon
His shoulders. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace. He's King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. He's the King of Righteousness. Of the increase of His government
and peace there shall be no end. upon the throne of David, upon
his kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment, with
justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord
of hosts will perform this." You see, God said it would come
to pass. And it did come to pass. Not
one word of all that God has spoken will fail. Every promise God has spoken
of His exceeding great and precious promises, how many of them will
come to pass? All of them. All of them. As
Abraham was persuaded of all that God has promised, he's able
to perform. Now, look at verse 34 in Luke
1. Mary having heard this great
announcement, Now the coming of her Savior, she said, my soul
does rejoice in God my Savior. Then Mary says to Gabriel the
angel, how shall this be? She's looking naturally here
at first. How shall this be? I don't have
a husband. I'm a virgin. I've never known
a man. How shall this be? Now Mary's question here is not
one of unbelief like that of Zacharias when he was told that
him and Elizabeth Elizabeth, being old and barren, would have
a special son, and at first Zacharias didn't believe. Mary's question
here is not one of unbelief, but rather a question of amazement,
an astonishment, a question of admiration. I'm the chosen virgin
to bring forth the Son of God. You mean the Messiah is going
to come through my body, through my womb, is going to be conceived
in me? God Almighty? How shall this
be? Blessed, look what it says in
verse 45, And blessed is she that believeth, for there shall
be a performance of those things which were told her of the Lord. How is this glorious thing going
to take place? I don't have a husband. I've never known a man. And I'm
going to bring forth this special child. Oftentimes in Scripture,
True faith is expressed by words of amazement and admiration. We read in 2 Samuel chapter 7,
when David was told that the Messiah, the same promise you
read right here in Luke 1 verse 33 and verse 32, That same promise was given to
David way back in 2 Samuel chapter 7. You remember what David said
when he heard that promise that the Messiah would come through
his family, would be the son of David, the greater David?
You remember what he said? He said, Lord, who am I and what
is my house that you have brought me hither to? Or, I think of
this amazing and admiration of Mephibosheth
when he came before King David. It's recorded in 2 Samuel chapter
9 when David the king is anointed and sitting on the throne and
he sends out a word to fetch that special covenant son of
Jonathan. You remember? Go get him, fetch
him, bring him. You remember what Mephibosheth,
lame on both his feet, fell before David in admiration and in faith,
bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest
look upon me such a dead dog as I am?" You see, he was amazed. David was amazed. And Mary here
had amazing grace given unto her to believe the gospel. And so it is when believers consider
all the blessings of God's grace so fully, so freely given unto
us in the Lord Jesus Christ, for He has blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. True faith is really
and truly amazed, is it not? John Newton wrote, amazing grace,
how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was
lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, oh, but now I see. True faith is really, truly amazed
and truly wonders at the amazing salvation we enjoy by the free
and sovereign grace of God. I like what it says in verse
38 of Luke 1, And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord,
be it unto me according to thy word, according to thy promise. The object of faith is the Lord
Jesus Christ, but the foundation of faith is what? The Word. It says there that Mary said,
Let it be according to your Word. The Word of the Lord. How do
I know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of the
Lord? How do I know that God will show mercy to sinners through
the merits, blood, and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ? How
do I know that? Well, I just... It's not by feeling.
This is what the Word of God declares. Take that away from
the believer and we have no hope. You see, it's thus saith the
Lord. We have a good hope through grace. This is what the Word of God
declares. Take that away and we have no hope. We have no reason
or right to believe that God will save sinners. But this is
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that the
Lord Jesus Christ came to save Who? Sinners. Paul said, I'm
the chief one. So it's not, faith is not based
upon feelings, or ceremony, or tradition. Faith is based upon,
and the foundation of faith is the Word of God. I've given this
to you before, but I'm going to repeat it. Martin Luther,
the old reformer, said, feelings come and feelings go. And feelings
are deceiving. My warrant is a word of God.
Nothing else is worth believing. Although my heart should feel
condemned for want of some sweet token, I know one greater than
my heart whose word cannot be broken. So I'll trust God's unchanging
Word till soul and body sever. The words of men will pass away.
God's Word abides forever. You can trust what He says. He said heaven and earth will
pass away. My Word will never pass away. Now here's the second
thing. Look at Luke 1 verse 35. And
the angel answered and said unto her, God's going to do this. It's
not left up to you, Mary. God's going to do this. You remember
what she says over here in verse 49 of Luke 1? For he that is
mighty hath done great things, he that is mighty hath done to
me great things, and holy is his name. How's this going to
take place? God's going to do it. The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee,
therefore also that holy thing, that babe conceived in her is
none other than the holy God, the God-man which shall be born
of thee shall be called the Son of God." Gabriel said, God is
going to do this to you, for you, and in you. He that is mighty
hath done to me great thing." This is true of Mary bringing
forth the Messiah, isn't it? God who was manifest in the flesh. The Apostle put it this way,
without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God
was manifest in the flesh. Think of that. In the beginning
was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. And
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth and of His fullness, have we all received grace upon
grace. What she conceived in her womb,
And the formation of this real person, this real man in her
womb was without the taint and pollution of Adam's sin, Adam's
fall. This human body formed in her
body, human body and soul of that babe was inhabited by God
Almighty. True man and true God in one
blessed person. A body Thou hast prepared me. God who inhabits eternity inhabited
the body of a man. This is what we read in Scripture.
In the fullness of time God sent forth His Son made of a woman,
made under the law to redeem them that were under the law.
For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
He also likewise took part of the same. Yet, He had no sin,
knew no sin, and He did no sin. He is the Holy Son of the Eternal
God. He is God. And we see the work
of the Holy Spirit in all the glorious, redeeming work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Not only in His incarnation work,
but also in the work of salvation for us. The Holy Ghost shall
come upon thee and overshadow thee. But we see the Holy Ghost
working all through the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
J.C. Ryle said this, In every step
of the great work of man's redemption, we shall find the special mention
of the work of the Holy Spirit. Now listen carefully. Did the
Lord Jesus Christ make atonement for the sin of His people? It
is written in Hebrews 9.14, it was through the eternal Spirit
He offered Himself without spot unto God. Did the Lord Jesus
Christ rise again for our justification? It's written in 1 Peter 3.18,
He was quickened. He was quickened by the Spirit
of God, delivered from our offenses and raised again for our justification.
Does He supply His disciples with comfort between the time
of His first coming and His second? It is written that the Comforter
whom He promised to send is the Holy Spirit of truth. You see
the work of the Holy Spirit, not only in His incarnation,
but in completing our salvation. But think of this for a moment,
and I have never seen this before in verse 35. And I've been looking
at this for 35 years. I've never seen this before,
verse 35. Think of this for a moment. In
the Holy Ghost overshadowing her and bringing forth and creating
life in her, isn't that exactly what happens in regeneration?
God the Holy Spirit overshadows us and He brings forth life. He brings forth salvation. This
is exactly how Christ is formed in the believer in the new birth.
You have He quickened who were dead in trespasses and in sin. It's the work of God the Holy
Spirit in us bringing forth life and salvation. of His own will
begat He us with the Word of Truth. It's His will, His work. It's the work of the Holy Spirit
that takes the things of Christ and reveals them unto us. Salvation
is a revelation by the power of God. We've been made sons
of God by the work of the Triune God for us and in us. We read in Ephesians chapter
1 that the Father has chosen us in Christ before the foundation
of the world. And He has adopted us unto the
children of His love, children of His grace. So we see the Father,
God the Father, in choosing a people unto salvation. We're bound to
give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God has from the beginning chosen you unto salvation. We see the
work of the Son redeeming us, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of
His grace, Ephesians 1 verse 7. And we see the work of the
Holy Spirit overshadowing us and quickening us and bringing
us from deadness to life, from darkness
to light, from the grave of our sin, resurrected in Christ and
made new creatures in Him. And this is the work of God.
This is the work of God for us and in us. God who has begun
a good work in you, He will do it. He will finish it. It is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good
purpose. Salvation is by the grace of
God, by the will of God. Now look at verse 37. For with
God, I love this statement, nothing, nothing shall be impossible. Nothing. Remember we read in
Mark chapter 10, the reason I read that. the disciples with a perplexing
look upon their face when the man who was trusting in his riches
left the Lord Jesus Christ and they said, well, who then can
be saved? Who then can be saved? Remember what our Lord said,
with God all things are possible. There's nothing too hard for
the Lord. Now here's the pillar and complements
of saving faith. Our God is able. He's able to
save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him. He's able
to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the
presence of God's exceeding joy. Our God is able to do all that
He has promised. He will perform all things for
us. Listen carefully to this. With
our great God who called the world into being with His spoken
Word, in the beginning God created a heaven and the earth. Our great
God who called the world into being and formed it out of nothing.
Everything with Him is possible. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Now listen to this. There is
no sin too black, too bad, to be pardoned. There is no case
too desperate that the Lord cannot heal. You see, the blood of Jesus
Christ cleanses from all our sin. There is no heart too hard,
too wicked to be changed. Is there? Is there any case too
hard for the Lord? The heart of stone can be made
flesh. Philemon, be in Christ. He's
a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things have become new. You remember the promise found
in Ezekiel 37? God said, A new heart also will
I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. I will
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I'll give
you a heart that loves me, believes me. And that looks to me, a heart
that's a new heart, a new nature, a new principle. If any man be
in Christ, he is new. There's no work too hard for
a believer when it's given of God. We can do all things through
Christ that strengthens us. There's no trial. given unto
us that cannot be endured. You see, the grace of God is
sufficient for every trial. These are called precious trials.
There is no promise too great to be fulfilled. Christ's Word
shall never pass away. What He has promised, He is able
to perform. He has given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises. By these promises, you are partakers
of a divine nature. There is no difficulty too great
for a believer to overcome. You remember what we studied
in Revelation this morning? In Revelation it says, "...to
the blood of Christ they have overcome." When God is for us,
who shall be against us? He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all. How shall He not with us all
so freely give us all things? Now I pray that these principles
of grace be continually before our minds. The angel's recipe
is an invaluable remedy. Faith never rests so calmly,
so peacefully as when it lays its head on the pillow of God's
sovereign mercy and sovereign grace. For with God, nothing
shall be impossible. Bring up what you will. He spake, and it was done. He
commanded, and it stood fast. He worketh all things after the
counsel of His own will." Now, here's what saving faith says.
Look at verse 38. Here's the surrender of faith.
Luke 1, verse 38. And Mary said, Behold, I'm yours. I'm, behold, the handmaid of
the Lord. I'm yours. Be it unto me according
to thy word." And the angel departed from her. Mary said to Gabriel,
I'm the handmaid of the Lord. I'm the servant of the Lord.
If you look that word up, handmaid, in the original, you know what
it means? Female slave. She's saying, I'm the servant
of the Lord. Be it unto me according to your
word. Let it be. according to thy promise." She
believed God, received His message, and was abundantly blessed. Let me show you another scripture.
Turn to Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter 5. Luke chapter 5. Look at verse 1. Here's what
faith does. Luke 5 verse 1, it came to pass
that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God,
he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two ships standing by
the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them, washing their
nets. And he entered into one of the
ships, which was Simon's, this is Simon Peter, and prayed him
that he would thrust out a little from the land, and he sat down
and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left
speaking, He said to Simon, launch out into the deep and let down
your nets for a great catch. That drop is a great catch. Simon,
he's a professional fisherman. Verse 5, Simon answering said
unto him, Master, we have toiled all night long and have taken
nothing. We have not caught one thing.
Nevertheless, at thy word I'll let down the net. That's faith. Look what happens. And when they had done this,
they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break,
and they beckoned unto their partners which were in the other
ship that they should come and help them. And they came and
filled both ships so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter
saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, Depart from me,
O Lord, I'm a sinful man. For he was astonished and all
that were with him at the catch of fishes which he had taken.
And so also with James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were
partners with Simon and Jesus, said unto them, Fear not, from
henceforth thou shalt catch men." I believed God. Abraham believed
God. And it was counted to him for
righteousness, wasn't it? Abraham believed God. This is
the essence of saving faith, the foundation of faith. She
asked no more questions. She had no more objections. But,
but, but, but, no. No more objection. No more question. Asked no special favor. She simply
believed God and bowed in submission. That's saving faith. She bowed
in submission to the will of God, with a willing, ready heart
to serve the purpose of the Lord, whatever that may be." You see,
without faith, it is impossible to please God. Those that come
to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of them
that believe Him. Let's turn and read that one
more time. Find Romans chapter 4. Look at verse 1. Romans 4 verse 1. What shall
we say then? There's a very good article in
the bulletin today, by the way, in Romans 3 verse 28. Therefore
we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deed of
the law. Bulletin article by Brother Mahan,
1979. What shall we say, then, that
Abraham, our father, as pertained to the flesh, hath found? For
if Abraham were justified by works, he were of the glory,
but not before God. For what saith the Scripture?
Abraham believed God. and it was counted to him for
righteousness." Now, read on. Now, to him that worketh not,
to him that worketh, rather, is reward, not record of grace,
but of debt. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him, that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted
for righteousness. Even as David also described
as the blessedness of the man unto whom the Lord God imputeth
righteousness without works. saying, Blessed are they whose
iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is
the man whom the Lord will not impute sin. That's the blessed
man. Saving faith surrenders to the
Word of God, the will of God, and the purpose of God. May God
be pleased to work that humility and faith in us, in our heart. And may we say, As Mary said,
Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy
word. You see, saving faith is called
the precious gift of God. The precious gift of God. Let's
read one other verse and I'll let you go. Find John chapter
5. John chapter 5. Verily, verily,
verse 24, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth
on him that sent me hath everlasting life. What does that word, hath,
mean? Got it. Got it. Those who believe, they
have life. How does a man believe? It's
a gift of God. Faith is a gift of God, not of
work that any man should boast. He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him, sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. For with God nothing shall be
impossible. Your salvation, my salvation,
the salvation of God's people, God's elect, wherever they may
be, He'll cross their path with the gospel, call them out of
darkness into His marvelous light, and save them by His mighty grace. He'll do it because He's promised
to do so.