Advent 4
21 December
2014
Luke 1:26-38
In the fullness of time Christ is born
Stir up Your
power, O Lord, and come among us with great might; and because we are sorely
hindered by our sins, let Your bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and
deliver us;
People these
days seem to have a fascination with angels. One of Billy Graham’s most popular
books was simply entitled “Angels.”[1] We usually associate angels as being perfect
and sometimes we like to place attributes we associate with the angels on to
people. For example, we might refer to a well-mannered child as being “a
perfect angel.” What we need to remember and our text for this morning will
help us in this, is that angels are called especially to serve and protect the
elect of God. The write to the Hebrews writes, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to render service to
those who will inherit salvation.”[2]
They are divine messengers who bring important communications from God.
Imagine
what would have happened to the Christ child had Mary and Joseph not been told
about the coming birth from an angelic messenger. Quite possibly Mary and
Joseph would have settled on a divorce. The entire Christmas story could have
been told under different circumstances. This morning let us consider the
significance of what an angel said to Mary.
1. The first message we receive from
Gabriel is exactly who is to be born.
You will be with child and give
birth to a son and you are to give Him the name Jesus. (V31) The Holy Spirit will come upon 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. (V35)
Who
is to be born? He is none other than Jesus, the Son of God. He is the holy one,
the one promised in the Scriptures to be God in the flesh. By these words of Gabriel, we see that the
one being born is God’s only Son. He is
the Christ, the Father’s chosen one.
2. Gabriel also tells us how the child is
to be born. He is born by the power
of the Holy Spirit. The Most High will overshadow this young woman so that the
child to be born will be called the Son of God.
He
is to be born holy for God is His Father. True, Jesus is born of a human
mother, but his Father is God. Jesus is
born human. Yet He is without sin. Jesus
is like you in every respect except He is without sin. Jesus is the perfect,
spotless Son of God who came into this world to take your place under the Law.
He comes to be your substitute. He comes to live a perfect life for you. He
comes to fulfill all the requirements the Father has for an obedient life. He will take to Himself your guilt, your fear and brokenness.
3. He comes to be
your Savior. So says the angel Gabriel, “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 the hose of Jacob
forever; His kingdom will never end.” (Vv.32-33)
This child is a king. But not any king, He is the King of
Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the eternal God who takes possession of the
throne of His Father because He has been declared the rightful heir. He is
Lord. He is God. He is your Savior, Redeemer and king. This week we celebrate
His coming into our world as He breaks into time and space to take up Him rule
in your life.
Who is it that is
born for us today? He is the Lord’s Christ. He is the Son of the Most High God
and in Him we live, move, and have our being. Praise Him for He has come. Serve
Him for He is your King. Worship and praise His name for He is your God.
Words – 711
Passive
Sentences -
Reading Ease
– 83%
Reading
Level – 4.9
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