Mary, a Woman of Faith

Christmas 2022
Review – faith is believing what God has said in the past (and the promises he has fulfilled), and looking to the future, believing he will do the same in the future with the things he has promised.

• Like Abraham, reasoning/thinking /making decisions based on what God has said, not according to how I feel or what I want. (Willing to sacrifice Isaac, reasoning on the promise, without wavering that God would keep his promise no matter what)
• Like Isaac and Jacob, holding on to God’s promises, never letting go of them, and passing them on to our children.
• Like Joseph, living for the greater reward of God’s promises to come, and not settling for the temporary pleasures and possessions of this world.
   
  What hinders us from living like these men did? 
  Because instead of living for what God has promised in the future, we are too caught up with what we want today! 

Every culture and group of people think they are the center of the universe. When we go to a new group of people, every one of them think that they are in the center of the world, and the world revolves around them. Even in America, before maps and global positioning, we thought we were the center of the world. Think about the world maps hanging on the walls in our school classrooms. What country is in the center?
 
That’s often how many of us approach life as well.

• A baby cries because life is about getting what he wants.
• One of the hardest things to train children to do is to consider others over themselves! 
   
  In the book “It’s Not About Me,” Max Lucado said, “If I think life is all about me, and you think life is all about you, we have no hope for unity!” We have no hope for becoming what God created us for… Reflections of him.
   
  Max gave the illustration of the moon as the model of our role. What does the moon do? The moon generates no light. The moon does not shine it’s own light. Apart from the sun, the moon is nothing more than a big rock in the sky. But, properly positioned, the moon reflects the light of another.. The sun. Let the moon do what she was made to do, a clod of dirt reflecting the greater light. The moon is at peace in its place. It doesn’t complain, it doesn’t try to make itself look great… it simply sits there, and lets the sun shine on it, and bounce off providing a soft light that touches the earth when it’s dark.
   
  What would happen if we accepted our place as Son reflectors?
   
  Because Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph all lived for something / someone greater than themselves, they were counted as men of faith! They believed what God said, and they staked their life on it. They lived for what God promised and the things of this world weren’t important to them (Joseph). They also reflected God through their faith.
   
  Let’s look at a few people from the Christmas story, over the next couple weeks, and observe how they walked by faith, and what motivated that.
   
  Let’s start with Mary
  What do we know about Mary?
  READ: Luke 1:26-27
  Nazareth, a village in Galilee
  nothing special there.
  Nazareth was 200 km (120 miles) from Bethlehem (From here to Lae is 280)
  To a Virgin named Mary – un-married – never been with a man
  Most scholars say she was probably between 14 and 16
   
  She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph.
  What did this mean for Mary? Engagement involved 3 things.

1.  First, a contract drawn up by the parents or by the friend of the bridegroom. – No consent of the girl was demanded 
2. Second, the meeting of the two families concerned, with other witnesses, at which time the groom gave the bride jewelry (Gen. 24:53) and declared his intention to observe the terms of the contract already arranged.
3. Third, the payment of the mōhar (4119) by the prospective bridegroom. This occurred during a ceremony at which a priest may have been present. The status of the man and woman was now, as in Hebrew times, practically the same as that of married persons
    
   Once this contract was final, she was not allowed to be engaged to any other man without a legal divorce, and any violation of the contract was as serious as if the two had been ceremonially married
    
   There is no clear evidence that the young woman had any right of appeal as to her family’s choice. The bridegroom himself did not conduct the negotiations, but the matter was in the hands of a third party such as his parents or some trusted servant or friend.
    
   Can you picture this? She has just been “engaged.” She has entered into this contract, this agreement, that she is wholly and completely set apart to marry Joseph. The only way to get out of it would be a legal divorce. She had no choice in the matter. It was all arranged, and “set in stone.” 
    
   It is at this point the angel comes! We’ll come back to this as we look at Mary’s faith.

READ: Luke 1:28-30

Greetings favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

I think I would have needed that encouragement too.

Mary was confused and disturbed. Why would an angel be speaking to her? What could this mean”

“Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!” I think I would have been afraid if an angel was speaking to me! You have found favor with God. What did we see from Hebrews 11. Those God approved, those who had favor from God, were those who walked by faith! Mary must have been living by faith. God was affirming her faith.
READ: Luke 1:31-32

What have we defined as a life of faith? People of faith look to the future because they believe what God has said in the past. These were not perfect! They were not sinless, and neither was Mary. But, how they lived in the moment, was based on what God said in the past and looking to the future for God’s promise.

This was true of Mary. Let’s read that again and note the things God has said in the past about what was about to happen in the near future:

(1) Mary believed what God said in the past
  
 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son,
How many virgins were there in Israel? God chose Mary!
and you will name him Jesus.
Savior… God had promised to send the savior, the Messiah…
32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Messiah
The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
God’s promise to David and Israel regarding the seed of the woman, of David’s kingly line…
33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
They were looking for a king.

Even Herod knew of this prophecy.. “the virgin will conceive..”

Mary heard what the Angel said, she remembered the promises, and she believed the angels words. She just didn’t know how God would do it!

READ: Luke 1:34
Just like Abraham, she believed God’s promise, but reasoned, thought about it… and so she asked, “how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The promise was for a virgin. But, how does that work?

READ: Luke 1:35-37
The word of God will never fail! This is what God has said in the past… and His Word will never fail!

Mary believed that! and just like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, she staked her life on it!

READ: Luke 1:38 “I am the lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

(1) Mary believed what God said in the past
(2) Mary chose to let her future be decided by God

People of faith look to the future because they believe what God has said in the past. Mary was willing to trust God with her future, even though she had questions.

Remember,  She has just been “engaged.” She has entered into this contract, this agreement, that she is wholly and completely set apart to marry Joseph. The only way to get out of it would be a legal divorce. She had no choice in the matter. It was all arranged, and “set in stone.” If she was found to be pregnant, it meant she had broken that contract, she had violated the agreement! Mary knew the possible consequence of that.

• she could be stone
• people would not understand
• what would her parents think?
• Would Joseph believe her?
• What about their community? Everyone would know the baby wasn’t Joseph’s
• She would be accused of being unfaithful

But because she believed what God said in the past, and she chose to let her future be decided by God, she said, “I am the lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

READ: Luke 1:39-45
You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said

(1) Mary believed what God said in the past
(2) Mary chose to let her future be decided by God

(3) Mary found her joy in God’s lovingkindness and his promises

READ: Luke 1:46-56 

Ps 63:3 – God’s loving kindness is better than life

What God has promised in the future is better than anything this world has to offer me today!

We started by asking, What hinders us from living like these men did? We talked about that so often, instead of living for what God has promised in the future, we are too caught up with what we want today! We don’t accept our place of being like the moon, content and at rest with just reflecting God.

Because Mary believed what God said in the past, she lived for the future promise

• she could be stone – but God’s love was greater
• people would not understand… but God’s love was greater
• what would her parents think?
• Would Joseph believe her?
• What about their community? Everyone would know the baby wasn’t Joseph’s
• She would be accused of being unfaithful

If Mary lived for what she wanted today… to marry, to have a good Jewish husband, to have a nice family… how would that have affected her response?

Instead, God’s promise became the center of her life! She chose to live for God’s future promise, letting God design her path. Instead of seeking her own desires, she chose to be a God reflector, doing what God wanted.

What do you want today that hinders you from living for God’s future promise?