Leading up to the Birth

Luke 1:26-37; 2:1-7

26

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named
Nazareth,
27

To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's
name was Mary.
Just about 2017 years ago, there was a young man by the name of Joseph; and he
was betrothed to a young lady Mary. Betrothed means that they were engaged to
be married. They were both living in a small village called Nazareth.
The book of Luke gives an account of what appears to be Marys side of the of the
story of Jesus birth. Now Mary was a young lady in Nazareth, most likely in her
teens engaged to be married to this gentleman named Joseph.
When a man is betrothed to a girl, he gives the father of the girl a gift that would
seal the betrothal between the bride- and husband-to-be. Girls were expected to be
virgins when they got marriedand according to could even be put to death if they
were found not to be.
Jesus give his life as the ultimate gift, that we may be pure, even as the virgin. This
is why he called himself the bridegroom and the church is his bride. And when he
returns he expects to find a church that is righteous; and them will he take. Ladies
and gentlemen, boys and girls, we are the church this afternoon.
28

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the
Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
At this point, I beckon you to imagine the life of Mary. The angel of the Lord came to
her and greeted her you are highly favoured.
Now a few verses back (1:12), the same angel had appeared to Zacharias, and
when he (Zacharias) saw the angel, he was troubled and fear fell upon him. Mary on
the other hand, also saw the angel but was troubled not at what she saw but at
what she heard. She said to herself, what is he really saying, what does he mean
I am blessed among women?.
Im sure all of us would have encountered fear at some point. Some people fear
height, diseases, sickness, death, spiders, gray hair, rejection, disappointment,
being left out or forgotten. Even at Christmas time a time to be happy, joyous and
totally Christ centered; people tend to fear not having enough money, of not
meeting everyones expectations, over food, who will be there and who will not.
But God is saying to us, the same thing the angel said to Mary Fear Not. Now,
Mary had to be the kind of girl that spent time in the things of the Lord and listening
to the words of the Torah when it was read in the synagogue. Proverbs 3:1-4 let us
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know that if we write the commandments, if we write mercy and truth upon our
hearts, that we will find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and
man.
30

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his
name JESUS.
32

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:
33

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be
no end.
34

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

Zacharias asked for a sign Mary asked How shall this be.
God wants a people that will believe in Him that will do as he says by faith. But so
many people are looking for signs.
The Challenge To Mary's Life - When Gabriel makes His announcement to Mary,
her life is immediately turned upside down. Mary is called upon to bear shame,
reproach and humiliation for the glory of God. Her's is to be the greatest honor ever
afforded to woman, but at the same time it carried with it a tremendous social
stigma. (Very much unlike our day!)
(Ill. When our lives do not go as we have planned it is easy to fear that which is
unknown. Often, God will allow things to happen in your life and life and mine that
are hard to bear and hard to understand, yet the Lord sends them our way so that
we might grow in Him and come to know Him in a better way. When these times
arise, it is easy to question the Lord and His judgment. It is always easy to question
but it is far nobler to comply with the Lord.)
(You see, one inescapable part of being a Christian is the area of cross bearing,
Matt. 16:24. No one said such a life was easy, but the end results are worth the
trials of this life!)
(Ill. The secret to surviving the dreadful times is to learn to trust completely in the
Lord - Although Nancy earned a meager living by hard work, she was a radiant,
triumphant believer. One day a wealthy lady with a very gloomy outlook on life said
to her, "You're happy now, but what about later? Or suppose your employer moves
and you have no job? Or suppose..." Nancy broke in, "Stop! I never suppose! The
Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want," Then she added, "And it's all those

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'supposes' that are making you so miserable. Why don't you give them up and trust
the Lord completely?" That just about sums us up as well, doesn't it?)
C. V. 38 The Consecration Of Mary's Life - Despite the shame that was sure to
come her way, despite the humiliation she would bear, Mary was willing to submit
her life to the will of the Lord. In doing so, she sets and example of obedience and
surrender that every child of God needs to take to heart.
(Ill. You and I would do well to learn to submit to the will of the Lord in every detail
of life. We need never fear the providential hand of God, for He will never do us
wrong! Regardless of what may come our way in life, we can rest assured that God
is going to use it to get glory to Himself and to help us learn more about Him.)
What is holding you back today? What is holding you back from accepting Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior. The bible says in John 3:16 For God so love the
world that He sent His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not
perish but have everlasting life. This is the plan God has for you. The signs are all
around in his Word, in everything around you. Do you want to accept Jesus today
into your life? You can do so today.
What is holding you back today from giving birth to the good news of Jesus Christ
from telling others. God wants to position you for a blessing but first you will have to
be positioned to be a blessing. Being a blessing means you will have to give up
something, be willing to make a sacrifice, be willing to go through the trouble before
the trumpet.
The ultimate gifts require the ultimate sacrifice. (The story of the Chinese Special)
(The ultimate gift of salvation)
God has a plan for each and every one of you today. Like the angel said to Mary
Fear Not. You not have to be afraid. Psalm 121:1-5 says the Lord is your keeper. He
will not suffer thy foot to be moved. He that keep you will not sleep. (You have a 24hours body guard).
Is there fear in your heart today? Bring it to Jesus! Is there sadness? Bring it to
Jesus! Is there fear over sin and hell? Bring it to Jesus! Is there disappointment and
disillusionment over the trials of life? Bring it to Jesus! Are there burdens too heavy
to bear? Bring it to Jesus! Is there brokenness and despair? Bring it to Jesus! Is there
failure and defeat? Bring it to Jesus! Whatever it is that is causing you to fear, bring
it to Jesus!
Wherever you find yourself whatever mountain or whatever valley, He holds you,
He says in Psalm 139:10 Even there will my hand lead you, His right hand shall hold
you.
The angel told Mary:
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35

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.
36

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the
sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

What do you see as impossible today? You tell me today, what is impossible with
God. You need that job, a husband, a wife, that increase, that house mere little
things. Or what about that healing, rekindle the relationship and love with your
spouse, to see the return of a rebellious child. My brothers and sisters, little
children, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD.
God wants to position you for something good in this season. Sometimes you uses
peculiar means that we do not understand fully to bring us to that position.
Now Jesus was prophesied in Micah 5:2 to be born in Bethlehem. God needs to position a

Joseph and Mary to be in Bethlehem. How does he do that?

Now I want to move on to Chapter 2:1
1

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be taxed.
Somebody say TAXED.
2

(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
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To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Can you imagine that taxes caused Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem? The journey to
Bethlehem must have had been tiring for Mary.
We hear that there will be some changes in taxes for the new year. Do you think that God can use
taxes to position you for a blessing? I encourage you today, you dont have to worry about the
Government today only put your trust in the one who holds the government on his shoulders.

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Yes, that same one who is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Might God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace, Emmanuel Jesus.
6

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be
delivered.
7

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in
a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
This is the story that lead to birth of the most amazing person Jesus, our hope, our salvation,
our life, our reason to rejoice especially in this season. I encourage you today to not get caught
up with all the different festivities and lights that dim the soul. But let the Light of this world be
screwed into the socket of our heart that the whole world may see Him.
(Story of the beggar) I can give you this money back now. I have heard something worth more
than anything).
I encourage you to come out at 7:00 AM next Sunday just for about an hour hour and a half
and hear start your day right by hearing more about this Jesus Our Lord. I want to encourage
you by letting you know that God has a plan to bless you, all you have to do is be willing to
surrender all you have to him your dreams and desires, troubles and disappointments let it all
go. Trust in Him by faith with all your heart, keep His word close to your heart. Love mercy and
truth and walk humbly with your God and you will find favour with God. The reason He came
is for you To give you life everlasting. All you have to do is accept Him into your heart.
Let us not only keep Him in our heart but let the world hear about Him. The shepherds had told
people about Him and they that heard were amazed. If you want to bring amazement this
Christmas, let someone know that Jesus Christ was born and came to bring hope to their life.

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