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A Season Of Wonder
Open Your Heart’s Door To God’s Plans
Luke 1:26-38
Introduction: A Life- Changing Experience
Opening the front
door of your house can be a life-changing
experience. I love to watch those commercials for Publishers Clearing
House. These are the ones in which an unsuspecting
person opens the door, unprepared for
what they see: television cameras, microphones, and a man
in a suit who hands the towel-draped-just-out-of-the-shower-homeowner
a check for several million dollars. The expressions on the
faces of the recipients are priceless. So are their screams
of delight. That one isolated ring of the doorbell casts a
spell of sorts. Life for these instant millionaires will never
be the same.
The
all-too-familiar story of Mary's encounter with the angel
Gabriel is another example of how simply answering the front
door proved to be a life-altering event. It was a knock that
sent shock waves through Mary's teenage heart (not to mention
the halls of history). The messenger from heaven didn't have
a million-dollar check in his hand. But he did hand her a
script—a script
for a play in which she unknowingly had been cast in a leading
role.
Need
I say more? I think you've got the picture. No TV cameras
necessary. Mary was caught totally unaware by what Gabriel
declared as fact. Listen to these verses:
In
the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a
town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man
named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was
Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you
who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Luke
1:26-28 NIV
So far;
so good. It’s not every day an angel shows up at your front
door but after the shock wears off, it could be a very good
thing. Mary opened the door, however, to something big—very
big! She hadn’t sent in a postcard or signed up online for
a chance to be selected as the mother of the long-awaited
Messiah. She hadn’t gone looking for doors left ajar that
would turn her into an instant celebrity.
Mary opened
the door of her heart to the message that she had found favor
with God. She would give birth to a son to be named Jesus
who would be great and be called the Son of the Most High.
What would you do if you heard a knock at the door and opened
it to find an angel of God calling you to God’s change of
plans for your life? What’s amazing to me is that Mary was
willing to do whatever the God she worshiped desired. The
way in which the scene unfolds in Luke provides us with a
model to follow if we want to be open to God’s plan for our
lives. There is much we can learn from this young girl about
honoring God with a heart that is open and receptive to His
plans—no matter how troubling they might seem at first. Let
me put what I believe God wants to tell us this morning into
a sentence. Are you ready?
When God deposits special plans at our doorstep, we'd best open the door and participate in His purposes instead of panicking at the possibilities.
I'll
say it once more. When God deposits special plans at our doorstep,
we'd best open the door and participate in His purposes instead of panicking at the possibilities. That's
what Mary did.
Lesson 1: God Has Plans For Ordinary People (v.
26)
We know
the story about the birth of Christ so well that we tend to
gloss over how disruptive this was for Mary. Her predictable
life was turned completely upside down in just a few minutes.
Because we are so familiar with the account we succumb to
the mistaken notion that she was chosen by God to fulfill
His extraordinary plan because she was so extraordinary. In
reality, she was a very ordinary girl who became extraordinary
because she opened her heart to God’s plan.
She was
a young teenager who had a common name. She lived in a village
that was considered a no-where destination. She lived in the
town you didn’t want to claim as your home. If asked where
you lived, you would cover your mouth with your hand and mumble,
“Nazareth?” Years later as Jesus started His ministry, one
of Jesus’ first followers named Philip immediately went to
tell Nathaniel that he had found the one written about by
the prophets—none other than Jesus of Nazareth, son of Joseph.
Nathaniel’s reaction summed up the common evaluation…
Nazareth!
Can anything good come from there?
John 1:46 NIV
God’s story
of redemptive love for the world begins with a young girl
with a common name who understood the stinging rebukes of
discrimination. It doesn’t sound very promising Yet, when
Mary opened the door of her heart to God’s plans it was the
start of something extraordinary.
Lesson 2: God’s Plans Take Precedence Over Our Plans
(v.27)
Mary had
a plan for her life… at least she thought she did. She was
engaged to Joseph who enjoyed the privilege of being a descendent
of King David. Since being engaged was as legally binding
in Jewish tradition as the wedding vows are in our culture,
she was going about her normal daily routine as she waited
for her wedding day to arrive. Then, she opened the door and
found an angel there telling her that God had a different
plan for her life. God’s plan preempted any control she may
have thought she had over her own life.
The
sooner we understand that God’s plans preempt our plans, the
better it will be for us. If God really wants to do His
work through us He will stay after us until we are ready to
do it. God loves early adopters but He also uses those who
resist Him and protest each step along the way. Moses advised
God there had to be someone else better suited for the job
of leading Israel out of Egypt. Gideon
was hiding in fear when God’s angel found him and called him,
“Mighty Warrior.” Jonah
tried everything he could think of to avoid going to Nineveh
to challenge the people to repent before it was too late.
Each of them discovered God’s plan preempted their own. The
refreshing thing about Mary is that she so readily embraced
God’s plan.
What
about you? Is there something God has been prompting you
to do for Him? Is there someone you sense God wants you to
reach out to? The important question for you is, “How will
you respond when you hear God knocking on your heart’s door?”
Lesson 3: God’s Plans Are Accompanied By A Sense Of His
Presence (v. 28)
Two different
times in this passage we hear Gabriel telling Mary that she
has found favor with God. She was the recipient of God’s good
will. But, he tells her more than that. He also assures her
that God is with her. From the very beginning Mary needs to
know she isn’t going to be left alone. When
God calls us to something He doesn’t leave us to do it on
our own. He promises us His presence.
As Jesus
prepared to return to heaven He met with His disciples to
make a final assignment—one we call the Great Commission.
It was a truly God-sized assignment to make disciples of all
nations. God the Father sent Jesus the Son to the world He
loved. Now, Jesus was sending His disciples—and through them
us—to the people He loved so much that He died for them.
Jesus assured
the disciples they wouldn’t be left on their own. He promised
them,
And
surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20
NIV
Mary could
be sure God was with her. The disciples could be sure that
Jesus was with them. We can be sure that God’s plans are accompanied
by His presence. The next lesson reminds us of why we need
His presence.
Lesson 4: God-sized Plans Leave Us With God-sized Questions
(vv. 31-34)
When Gabriel
finishes explaining God’s plan to Mary that she is going to
give birth to the Messiah she responds with a very reasonable
question.
"How
will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am
a virgin?" Luke 1:34
NIV
There is
an illustrative portrait that shows Mary’s expression as she
stood before Gabriel and heard his announcement. It is a haunting
close-up of a confused young woman surprised by the singing
telegram that has arrived at her door taking her breath away.
The portrait is like looking in a mirror. There are times
when I have been caught completely off guard by what God wants
me to do. Like Mary my best first reaction is often tentative
cooperation at best—if not fear-filled resistance. I have
my questions and I would like some answers. Does anyone here
identify with me?
The longer
I live and the more I understand about the Lord, I am more
convinced than ever that God's
surprises and plans are not to be feared, no matter how
unexpectedly or unusually they come packaged. In our case,
what the Lord deposits at our doorstep isn't as likely to
be a supernatural messenger as much as it is a message in
the natural flow of our daily lives. The key is that we learn to recognize God's special plans and
that we participate with
Him in them.
I want to
ask you this morning to accept an assignment during this season
of wonder through which you may find God asking you to open
the door of your heart to His plan. The assignment will not
be made by an angel but by the one person who arrives at your
house six days a week at around the same time, but stops only
for a few moments before moving on to the house next door.
The messenger is the mail delivery person who will be arriving
soon with Christmas cards. Statistics tell us that 95% of
Americans send some Christmas cards. Some send many cards
while some of us send just a few. The typical family receives
an average of 60 cards each Christmas.
No matter
what your view of Christmas cards, let me ask you this:
Have
you ever viewed those cards and Christmas epistles as a means
by which God reveals His plans for you?
Let me explain
what I mean. Those who have taken the time to send you a card
(and hopefully have written more than just their name at the
bottom) are people who are on the heart of God. And God has
used the postal service—without their knowledge—to bring these
people to your attention. They represent God's agenda. They
are those who are on His wish list. And through their cards,
the Father of Christmas has planted heaven in your home.
This month
you will receive countless greetings from those who love you.
You and your family are more than an address to them. Many
will tuck one of those family brag-rags into the card. You
know what I mean: those annual here's-what's-happened-in-our-family-this-past-year-bet-you-can't-top-this-let's-pretend-this-is-personal
form letter. Two sheets. Typed. Single-spaced. Both sides
of the paper. Judging from your smiles, we must have some
of the same friends. But even at that, you can see through
the form and, because of who it's from, you are warmed all
over because you know they care for you. They accept you as
you are, and most likely endure your brag-rag, too. Those
cards and letters from those with whom you've shared years
and tears and joys and disappointments are God's way of reminding
you that He loves you. He accepts you. He even puts up with
your tendency to boast.
During this
season of wonder, when we open the door of our heart to God's
plans, we are pleasantly
surprised to realize that His plans begin with a reminder
of his love. That was the first part of the angel Gabriel's
message to Mary. "God highly favors you, Mary! He is
with you! He's on your side! He loves you, precious girl!"
I really like the way Eugene Peterson's translates this in
The Message. Through his pen God says, "You're beautiful
inside and out."
That is
a message some of you desperately need to hear from God today.
Truth be told, you dread Christmas. Christmas seems to celebrate
the idyllic childhood and family life you never had. Painful
memories tend to sneak out of the uncaulked corners of your
mind more now than at any other time of the year: a father's
drunken rage; a grandfather's forced intimacy; family feuds
around the holiday table; your parents' divorce; your grandmother's
death; a child’s departure from the faith. It all bubbles
to the surface whenever you smell the wassail warming on the
stove. You want December to just be over. Decem-bur-r-r-r.
Christmas leaves you cold. You feel so all alone… afraid…
unloved. And so I ask you, “Can you hear God say, even through
the mail you receive this season, ‘Greetings, dear child.
I highly prize you. I am with you’”?
That brings
us to the final lesson of the morning.
Lesson 5: God’s Plans Need To Be Acted Upon (v.
38)
Mary accepted
God’s plan for her life.
"I
am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be
to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:38 NIV
God’s plan
involved Mary but it extended far beyond her. It was through
Mary that God would bless the world with the gift of His Son.
What would God have done if Mary had refused? I don’t know,
but I don’t need to know because she acted upon God’s plan.
As you open
the door of your heart to God's plans, expect to see an agenda that points to others.
Those stacks of letters the gabardine Gabriel brings to your
mailbox include cards from those who are hurting worse than
you: people in pain; those who are struggling through their
first Christmas season without a mate or a parent or a child
who tragically died this past year. The carols catch in their
throats. The lights on the tree are a blur as they look through
swollen eyes. They run out of tissues before they run out
of December. God wants you to know that He cares for them
and wants to care for them—through you. While they aren’t
aware of it, in their Christmas greetings heaven has subpoenaed
you to be a witness on the Lord's behalf of His goodness,
mercy, and love.
What about
those you hardly know who will drop you a card because they
made your acquaintance this past year? They aren't acquainted
with Jesus, but they send Christmas cards. It's a tradition
for them. And now that they've met you; you're on their list.
They sense something about you that's refreshingly different.
They don't know what it is. But you know: It's your authentic
faith. Now, God has broken through into your world through
a Christmas card from someone you hardly know. The very fact
that this person has sent you a card is no small matter. God
prompted them to do that so you would be inclined to take
steps toward them.
This morning
I'm talking about opening your heart's door to God's plans.
I'm suggesting it is quite possible that the postman is a
messenger God will use to spell out ways you can serve him.
But how good are you at recognizing the plans of the Lord
camouflaged in Christmas cards? Will you recognize the elderly
scrawl at the bottom of that card as more than a human hand?
It may take some concentration. It may take some time. Mary
didn't shut the door in Gabriel's face. She took the time
necessary to think about what he was saying until she recognized
the hand of the Lord in the words of the angel.
If we’re
watching—really watching—we will see the hand of God written
on every day of our calendars as we prepare to celebrate the
birth of Christ. He sometimes sends the clues directly to
us in the mail! He is a great and gracious God. If we take
the time to take our search seriously, we will find Him, time
and time again. Maybe you're saying, "Now that you put
it that way, I have seen God already this month. I just didn't
know it was Him. There was a card that came this week that
warmed my heart in a strange way. I kept reading and re-reading
the sentiment. God was speaking to me."
You're right.
And you'll find that He'll be doing a lot of that sort of
thing the rest of this month, if you are looking and listening
for Him.
The question
is: How will we respond
when we detect that God has knocked? We have a choice,
you know. Mary's response is beautifully simple and simply
beautiful: "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me
as you have said." Wow! No excuses that she wasn't available.
No reasons why it just wouldn't work. No false humility deferring
to somebody more deserving. She just accepted God's challenge
and said okay.
The
degree to which we act like Mary will determine just how wonder-filled
our Christmas will be this year. And I think that's exactly
what you want to do. Respond like Mary. Humbly accept what
you understand God wants you to do and then—admitting your
need for His help—do it.
You will
find a prayer in the study notes along with some other suggestions
of ways to help you enlarge your celebration during this season
of wonder. After you retrieve your mail but before opening
it, say a prayer like the one provided for you.
Dear
Lord, I know you are always at work in my life, even when
I am not aware of your presence or activity around me. Please
open my eyes and my heart to what you have to say to me through
today's mail. Help me to see the wonder of this most holy
season as I recognize you in all I do. Amen.
As you do
this you may very well open your door and see God’s messenger
arriving to announce your heavenly assignment.
Conclusion:
Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear To Tread
Remember
the old love song Fools
Rush In Where Angels Dare To Tread? In the
case of the people of God, heaven
rushes in where angels dare to tread. When Mary opened
the door she was wrapped in the atmosphere of eternity. Gabriel
wasn’t the boy next door. He didn’t live across town. He wasn’t
someone with whom Mary had gone to school or synagogue. He’d
never been seen in Nazareth before. The reason was simple.
Gabriel was from heaven. He was a messenger of the Most High
God. Wherever he went, he carried with him the agenda of heaven.
What he had to say opened the eyes and the ears of those to
whom he spoke so they could the sense the awe-filled wonder
of God.
As we enter
into this Christmas season of wonder let’s listen for the
knock on the door, but don’t expect to find someone standing
there with a check for several million dollars. Expect something
far more valuable. Expect the childlike wonder of seeing something
that those around you aren’t even aware of. Expect to see
the Lord whom you adore as you open the door on the most wonder-filled
Christmas—EVER!
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