OPENING SCRIPTURE:

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.  For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

#1: Ordinary People for Extraordinary Purposes

• God often chooses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary purposes.
• God choses unlikely people so that His glory and power will be undeniable.
• God operates differently: He does not call the qualified, but He qualifies the called.

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are HIGHLY FAVORED! THE LORD IS WITH YOU.” (Luke 1:28 NIV)

• Mary was highly favor because the Lord was with her

The favor of the Lord follows those who finds God and follow Him.

For those who FIND ME FIND LIFE and RECEIVE FAVOR FROM THE LORD. (Proverbs 8:35 NIV)

• When you find God, you find favor.
• A willing heart will transform ordinary lives into extraordinary purposes

If you are WILLING and OBEDIENT, You will eat THE BEST OF THE LAND (Isaiah 1:19 NASB)

• Willingness and obedience will open the door for God’s best for your life.

#2: Faith: Trusting God Beyond Understanding

“HOW WILL THIS BE,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34 NIV)

• This was not unbelief speaking but honesty
• Unbelief says there is no truth and no God; Doubt says there is a God and I am still searching for the truth.

Having faith does not mean we have all answers.

• God is patient with sincere questions that seek understanding.

Faith is not the absence of questions, faith is choosing to trust God when the answers are incomplete.

TRUST in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)

• God’s plans often surpass human reasoning.
• Trusting God means believing Him even when the path is unclear.

#3: Surrender: “Yes” To God Regardless of The Cost

And Mary said, “BEHOLD, THE LORD’S BOND-SERVANT; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38 NASB)

• Back in the OT, a bondservant was a slave who can exercise their free will and leave their master. But instead has made their own decision to willingly stay and serve their master.
• Mary had the choice, the freewill to say No…and walk away…but she did not.
• Mary willingly submitted herself to God’s plan. She said Yes to God!

CONCLUSION

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?