“The Peace of Knowing God”
Sunday, 12/21/08
Fourth Sunday of Advent

Introduction: I want you to indulge me for a moment, and close your eyes. And as you close your eyes, think about what is it that is stirring around in your head? Are there anxious thoughts about all the things you still have to do for Christmas?… Are there worries? And if so, what are those worries? OR, are you able to let your thoughts fade away/ so that your mind is quiet?
OKAY, you can go ahead and open your eyes now. This fourth Sunday of Advent we talk about PEACE. And usually when you think about peace you think about quiet, calm, and maybe even silence. Or maybe you go a different direction and think about not being anxious or not fearing anything. How many of us can say that we are at peace? This morning I want us to understand how we CAN have peace, even in the midst of the busyness of the holidays; even in the midst of life’s troubles!

I. Do not be afraid- (Luke 1:26-33)
a. Perplexed-
1. Mary: This passage is a familiar one. We read it every
Christmas. We read it every Christmas because it is an important passage of when Mary finds out that she will be pregnant with the savior of the world! And if that isn’t enough, she finds this out by having a visit from an angel.
I love how the angel gets right to the point, as he says to Mary: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Now even though the angel gets straight to the point, Mary doesn’t respond, because she doesn’t understand. The scripture says that she is “perplexed.” She doesn’t understand why the angel is visiting her, and why he would tell her that she is favored.
The angel understands her dilemma (I’m sure this is not the first time someone has been bewildered over the visit of an angel!). The angel continues on, knowing that Mary will come around, saying: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” The angel wants Mary to know that she has been favored. And sometimes it takes repeating something like this several times before it is believed. And how is she favored? She is favored with God. NOT BAD.
It is interesting to note that the same Greek word for favor (charis) is also translated as grace. “Grace is a gift given to us that we do not deserve.” So for Mary to find favor with God meant that God was going to give her a gift that she did not earn or deserve. God chose Mary to give a special gift to. Mary has no idea yet what this gift is, but she will soon find out. SO, maybe at this point Mary’s mind is thinking about how God’s grace will be shown to her. Maybe God will give her and her family some blessings to ease the strain of their daily lives.
What the angel tells her next, she could never have been prepared for, as the angel tells her that she was chosen to be the mother of the savior of the world. If Mary was perplexed at the initial greeting, Mary is definitely perplexed at this statement. What does that mean to be the mother of the savior of the world?
If ever there was something that would cause you unrest, to not be at peace, it would be to find out that you were going to get pregnant and have the savior of the world, and yet you are not married. At this point, we have to understand that Mary’s head is spinning out of control, not able to put this into perspective.
Later in the passage we will see the angel explain how this will be!
2. Us: So let’s step away from the text for a moment and ask
these questions: What is perplexing you right now (Relationships, family, health issues, money issues, envy issues as you want what others have but you don’t. The list could be endless)? But there is also the question: What would it take for you to believe that you have favor with God? MOST people don’t live their lives understanding that we can have God’s favor. There was nothing about Mary that was any better or greater than you or me. God just chose her for this duty.
You and I are chosen every day to live for God, with God’s favor upon us. That is because when we are called by God, that alone is a favor from God, but God also comes alongside us to walk with us (this too is God showing us favor).
b. Letting God reign- So it is really about letting God show you what
God has in store for you, and accepting this. Mary had to accept what the angel was telling her before they could move forward. This is what we see Mary doing./ But it didn’t come to her right away, just as it doesn’t come to us right away. The angel of the Lord is trying to explain all this to Mary, and she is trying to take it all in. She is told that she will bear a son; she is told what his name will be (Jesus); she is told what He will become (Son of the Most High and reign over the house of Jacob).
This is so much information; and so quickly. I don’t know if you’ve ever had this situation, where someone just unloaded on you all this startling information, but it can be hard to take in. We see Mary struggling with this, as she says in verse 34: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” This is one of the great controversial scriptures; THE VIRGIN BIRTH. We think that it was easy for Mary to understand; but it wasn’t. At least it wasn’t until she gave it over to God. It is God that will make this happen!
If we are going to walk with God as Mary did, then we need to take those experiences that perplex us, especially when it comes to God wanting to use us for His purpose, and we need to give it over to God. At first it may seem too big for us, or we may not want the responsibility, but once we give it over to God, as Mary did, then we can be more at peace with what God places in front of us. But at first, there isn’t much peace, because we are struggling to put it into perspective and believe.
Let's take a look for a moment at some things said by experts in times past:
Western Union, 1878: "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
Charles H. Duell, an official at the US patent office, 1899: "Everything that can be invented has been invented."
Wilbur Wright, 1901: "Man will not fly for 50 years." FIRST FLIGHT HAPPENED IN 1902.
Scientific American, 1909: "The automobile has practically reached the limit of its development."
Thomas A. Edison, 1910: "Gasoline engines will soon be rendered obsolete."
Pittsburgh newspaper, 1920: "The radio isn't even worthy of discussion."
Louis-Jean Lumiere (co-inventor of the first film projector), 1929: "Talking films are a very interesting invention, but I do not believe they will remain long in fashion."
Irving Thalberg, MGM Studios (who turned down 'Gone With The Wind'), 1938: "No Civil War picture has ever made a nickel."
Darryl Zanuck, 20th Century Fox, 1946: "Television won't last because people will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night."
Business Week, 1968: "With over fifteen types of foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn’t likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself."
Margaret Thatcher, 1970 (she became Prime Minister in 1979): "No woman in my time will ever be Prime Minister of Great Britain."
Ken Olsen, President, Digital Equipment Corp., 1980: "There is no reason for any individual to have a personal computer in their home."
The point is that people think they know what is possible, but we really don’t know. Just in our own world we see things come about that we could have never imagined. If this is true, then how much more with God?

II. Overshadowed by God- (Luke 1:34-38; Isaiah 6:5, 8)
a. The Understanding- So Gabriel begins to explain some of what God is
capable of doing. It’s as if Gabriel is saying to Mary, ‘You worship a mighty God, let me explain how mighty God truly is.’ What Gabriel really says to her is: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.”
Illus. “Finding God’s Resources,” Illus. Unlimited, p. 242, #3- The Amazon river is the largest river in the world. The mouth is 90 miles across. There is enough water to exceed the combined flow of the Yangtze, Mississippi, and Nile rivers. So much water comes from the Amazon that they can detect its currents 200 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean! One irony, is that sailors in ancient times died for lack of water…caught in the windless waters of the Atlantic Ocean. They would be adrift and helpless. However, sometimes sailors from South America who knew the area would come alongside and call out: ‘What is your problem?’ And the sailors from the other boat would say: ‘Can you spare some water?’ To which the sailors from the first boat would answer back: ‘Just lower your buckets. You are in the mouth of the mighty Amazon River.’
The sailors didn’t understand the power of the Amazon River. The challenge for Mary, and for most people today is to believe in the all-powerfulness of God. Do we really believe that God is capable of doing unfathomable things? Do we believe that God is capable of causing a virgin to become pregnant? Do we really believe that God can take on human form? These are things we must believe, if we are to have an accurate understanding of who God is.
To further help Mary understand God’s powers, Gabriel also tells Mary that Elizabeth is pregnant. This is another miracle because Elizabeth was advanced in age and thought to be barren. So now we have a pregnant virgin and a barren woman in her old age that is pregnant. Oftentimes, we need to see more than one miracle before we will even believe the first one. That is what God is doing here.
b. Peace will come- Gabriel concludes by saying: “For nothing will be
impossible with God.” And then we see Mary believe it. I mean really believe it. She responds by saying: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” And with this, we sense that there is a peace that comes upon Mary.
This isn’t the first time that someone had said these words, “Here am I.” In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah doubted that he was worthy to be a servant of the Lord. He said in Isaiah 6:5, “… ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips…’” How could Isaiah be a servant of the Lord and speak for the Lord if he was a man of unclean lips?
But then God comes and tells Isaiah that he would take away his guilt, and blot out his sin, and that he would be clean, and that because of God’s favor he could be God’s servant. And then in Isaiah 6:8 the Lord asks, “… ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And Isaiah said, ‘Here am I; send me!’”
You can hear in both responses, from Mary and from Isaiah, in those words “Here am I,” the peace that comes not only from having been chosen by God to be His servant, but even more, the understanding that they can indeed be God’s servant. Peace comes from accepting God’s help, following in God’s will, and living out God’s purpose, all the while knowing that God is walking with you and working it out for you!
FABLE (Illus. Unlimited, p. 405)- There is a fable of a sparrow who once asked a wild dove, ‘Tell me the weight of a snowflake.’ The dove answered, ‘Nothing more than nothing.’ The sparrow then responded: “Well then, I have a marvelous story to tell you. I sat on the branch of a fir tree, close to its trunk, when it began to snow—not heavily, not a blizzard—no just like in a dream, without a sound, and without any violence. Since I did not have anything better to do, I counted the snowflakes settling on the twigs and needles on my branch. Their number was exactly 3,741,952. When the 3,741,953rd snowflake dropped onto the branch, nothing more than nothing as you say, the branch broke off!” Having said that the sparrow flew away. The dove thought about this for a moment, and then remarked: “Perhaps only one person’s voice is lacking for peace to come to the world.”
God desires for you and me to say “Here am I.” If one of us says it, then another says it, and another, then in time we can bring peace to our world. For all you know, you are the 3 million, seven hundred and forty one thousand, nine hundred and fifty third person….whose desire to serve God for peace can be the person that sets peace into motion. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Conclusion:Mary provides us with an example of what it means to struggle with her call, to have some fear, to question Gabriel, and then move to being at peace with it all. 1. Mary is an example to us by her submitting to the will of God. 2. Mary is an example to us by showing us her gratitude toward God for bestowing grace on her. 3. Mary is an example to us in her grasp of the purposes and promises of God. 4. Mary is an example to us in her acceptance of the things of God. 5. Mary is an example to us in her willingness to be God’s servant.
God used a pregnant virgin to bring the Messiah into this world and instead of running scared she faithfully served God and was a great example. In her acceptance and carrying out of God’s will, Mary ultimately experienced peace. How can you and I experience peace? By allowing God to use us no matter the cost to our reputation or the comfort of our life? By letting God give us understanding of His purposes. By knowing that God can use us as He did Mary!!!!
May we be able to say as Mary did, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” And by these words, know that we will indeed experience the peace of the Lord! Amen.