The Village Church
Interrupted by Christmas - Audio
The heart of worship, the heart of this life, the heart of Christmas is Jesus and not us. As I said earlier today begins a very special season in the life of the church around the world. What is it that you know today is the first son of the Advent season. You say Advent, well what do you mean by that, Alex? Well, Advent simply means coming, a rival. It's a time where the church, globally, around the world celebrates the first coming of Christ. And we also anticipate his second coming as well. And when you think about it, when you really look at the first Advent of Christ's first coming, it was actually an interruption to life in the fallen world. It interrupted its life, it interrupted people's lives, it interrupted people's plans and agendas, it interrupted relationships. And it was an interruption for good, not bad or evil. And when you think about this time of the year, Christmas season, Christmas should interrupt our life. And now talking about the distractions of the over-commercialized Christmas, and talking about Christmas from God's point of view, his point of view, and from his point of view, Christmas was meant to cause an interruption, to interrupt our lives for good. So has your life been interrupted by Christmas? Or are you just distracted by the over-commercialized view of Christmas? Where are you this morning? Where am I this morning? Because I participated in Black Friday, so where am I? As I even preached this sermon, where am I this morning? We're going to begin a series called "The Interruption of Christmas" for the next couple of weeks. Because when you get back to the true meaning of it, it does interrupt your life, it brings it back into Christmas. So if you have your Bibles, open them to Luke chapter 1, begin in verse 26. Will you please stand for the reading of God's Word? In the six months, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin to throw to a man whose name was Joseph from the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary, and he came to her and said, "Greetings, old favorite one. The Lord is with you, but she was greatly troubled at the same and tried to discern what sort of greetings this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear son, you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called son of the most high, and the Lord of God would give to him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, in his kingdom, and for his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How would this be since I am a virgin?" The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived of Son. And this is the sixth month of her who had been called down, but nothing will be impossible with God." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, and let it be according to your Word, and the angel departed from her." This is God's Word, please pray with it for me. Father God, we come to your truth, we come to your standard, we come to your Word to us. This is just not any other book. These are the very words of the most high God, your Word, your truth to your people. And so, Spirit, as you came upon Mary, I pray that you will come among us today and apply this truth to our lives, to wherever we are this morning, or whatever we're dealing with this morning, we need your truth. We need to hear a word from you. So Holy Spirit, come, come and apply the truth to our lives, and Christ in my prayer. Amen. I always have trouble with this mic every week, okay? All right. So in these verses here, we see a life was interrupted, and it was an interruption for good. The person here, her life was interrupted in three ways, with a greeting, with a message and with a power. The first thing we want to look at is the interruption of this greeting. The text says that the angel Gabriel came to Galilee to a city called Nazareth. It wasn't set to the temple, it was not sent to Jerusalem, but to Nazareth. And Nazareth, you know, was not known for its high morals or religion, but for the latter. It wasn't filled with what we would call good, sudden folk, mostly pagan, had a poor reputation and if you read, if you read 1 John 1, 45, Nathan said, Nathan said, anything good come out of Nazareth, no, but something good was getting ready to come to Nazareth. Just we don't know, they didn't have the full extent of what that could be yet. Something good was getting ready to come to Nazareth, and the angel Gabriel came to meet a woman who was said to be a virgin, engaged to a man named Joseph. Joseph was part of the house of David, David, King David. Keep in mind these two descriptions of this woman. She's a virgin, married into the house of David, very two important things about her. Who was this woman? Her name was Mary. Now I'm sure when Mary begun her day as an engaged woman, meeting an angel with God on her to-do list was not on her agenda, was not part of her schedule. She was just going about her business, whatever she was doing in that time of the church, but her life was interrupted that day. And we all can relate to Mary, can't we? We all have plans, Thanksgiving plans, right, shopping plans, and sometimes all those plans get interrupted. The Lord interrupts us, and usually when he does, it's why I'm good. Mary was interrupted by the angel Gabriel, he interrupted her with the greeting. He says, "Greetings, old favorite one. The Lord is with you." What was Mary's response? Was she happy about this? Was she excited? Yes, the Lord is with me. No, she was greatly troubled at the greeting. She was called off guard. She was confused. She was perplexed. She was interrupted. She was afraid. I mean, can you blame her? It's not like angels appear to people on a regular basis. And if you know anything about the Old Testament, then you know that whenever the angel of the Lord showed up, it wasn't back. It wasn't like he was just walking down the street saying, "Oh, let me go see how Mary's doing." No, it was always a purpose behind it. Every time the angel of the Lord appeared in the Old Testament, it was a purpose behind it. And usually a call was going to be extended to someone to do something. When the Lord called Gideon, who appeared before Gideon, the angel of the Lord, whether the angel of the Lord stated Gideon, "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of violence." So what's the point here? The point here is that Mary's been called to something with this phrase. It's just not just a regular greeting. It's a call, been issued to her to do something. Mary was greatly troubled and tried to discern what sort of greetings this might be. And I think she was trying to discern what she was getting ready to be called to do. Because being a Jew, she knew her Old Testament history and she would have heard the stories of the angel of the Lord appearing before people. And every time the angel appeared, it was always some type of call that issued out. The purpose here was to enter Mary's life with a greeting that was actually a call, calling her to do something. But notice something else about this greeting that's also graced there. Everything is old favorite one, "The Lord is with you." What does favorite one mean here? What does it mean? Gabriel lets us know in verse 30 when he says, "Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God." You have found favor with God. The call of the greeting interrupted her, now the grace of the greeting interrupted her. Gabriel graced away her fears. You have found favor with God. Mary was not the favorite one because of who she was. She wasn't the favorite one because of what she was going to do or might because she didn't anything yet. She was favored because the Lord freely chose to place that grace upon her. She was not a grace-giver, she was just a grace-receiver, like all of us are. If you are a believer this morning, personal relationship with Christ, you have found favor with God because he chose to show you that favor through his Son. And so this call upon Mary is not her calling, it's not about her, it's about the one who's doing the call. And the same applies to us that whatever the Lord has called you to do, whatever it is, job, whatever, vocation, ministry, whatever he's called you to do, it's not your calling, it's the call he has given to you for his glory, for his purposes, to bring glory to his name. So what it means is you're interrupted for your good to show you that it's not about you, but it's about him. You see Gabriel, this was not the first time he appeared, since months before he met Mary, he also went to visit a priest named Zechariah who was in the temple performing his priestly duties. And then the angel appeared before him, and Zechariah was troubled, it's like Mary when he saw him, fear fell upon him as well. You see Gabriel stood before Zechariah as a representative of the Lord. It was as if the Lord him God was standing there, the angel was sent as a representative of God. So Gabriel stood in the presence of God and he spoke to Zechariah to bring him a message of good news. Gabriel interrupted Zechariah's life with the good news that his prayer for a son had been heard and it will be answered. His wife Elizabeth were back him a son, and this son would make ready for the Lord of people prepared and likewise when Gabriel prayed before Mary, he stood in the presence of the Lord. Know that it was if the Lord himself interrupted Mary with a greeting, but he also interrupted her with a message of good news too, a message of hope as well. Verse 31, "I need a big bavel." Do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with the Lord, and behold you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son. You shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, he will be called as son of the most high, and the Lord of God would give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever in his kingdom there will be no end. There will be no end to his kingdom. This message was one of hope and good news, and it centered upon the son that she was going to conceive. The message was not about her, the message was about the son, about Jesus. Pay close attention to this message that I sent to you Mary. Know Mary, this is not about you. Pay close attention to this message that is going to interrupt your life, the course of your life forever. We got to know she was engaged to be married, now her plans have all changed. He realized that even her husband's plans have changed with this news here. The life they thought they were going to have, the life that they were planning together, now has been interrupted with this message. You're going to conceive a son, you're going to call him Jesus, he's going to be called son the most hot, he's going to be a king, and his kingdom is going to reign forever. Mary, all your plans are now changed. Know, it's for your good, this message that he delivered to hers, it's three parts to this message. The first one is, is you were conceiving your woman by a son, you should call his name Jesus. Do you know what their name Jesus means? It means Jehovah helps, God saves our God, the Savior, that's what the name means. This name tells us what God does, he saves, he helps, and the son that she was going to bear, the son that she was going to conceive was going to play an important role in how God was going to save people, how he was going to be a Savior to mankind. You see, Mary didn't have a clue of what that was going to be like, or what that was convenient for her, but we do because we're looking back into history. We know that God saves through the cross, because we look back at history, but she didn't know that, but we do. Through this child, the Lord God was going to bring salvation. The first part of this message, this child came to do something, he came to work, he came to purchase salvation. He will perform the work of a wonderful Savior, the work of a wonderful Savior, and so when you think about Christmas and the little baby to be born know, that's a Savior, a Savior. He came to die, and realized that right, that's how he saves us for our sins. The baby Jesus, the one that we're going to see plays about is a Savior, not just any other baby, but a Savior. He interrupted life. The work of this Savior, when you read through the gospels, when he grows up, it calls a great interruption, didn't it? Has your life been interrupted by this child? Has your life been interrupted by this child? If you all believe where it has, because you have received him in saving faith, the first part of the message is God saves God the Savior. The second part of this message in verse 32 says, "He will be called great and will be called the son of the most high." The second part of the message that focuses on the true identity of the son of this child. Who is the true identity? Is he just any other baby? Is he just any other man, the son of God? And that calls a great interruption in the history of Christianity here. A great interruption, the son of God. Really? If you read through the gospels, you know it then. It calls an interruption today as well, the baby, not just any other baby, not just any other child. He's not like my little son Trason, it's God in the flesh in the form of a child. He just didn't become God in the flesh, he was born in God in the flesh. He realized that right. He was born in both God and man. Well, God in man, that's his identity. Has that interrupted your life? Jesus is not just a prophet, not just any other miracle worker. He is God in the flesh, very God. You got to know that. It has to interrupt your life. Breathe through the gospels, they bear witness to this. Thirdly, part is message. He says, "In the Lord God would give to him the throne of his father David." And he would reign over the house of Jacob in his kingdom, there would be no end. The third part is message, soldiers. What kind of authority this child is going to have? I mean like, wow, he's going to be a king. A king. That's a Kingly authority. He was given the throne of his father David, that's King David. He will also rule over the house of Jacob. The house of Jacob refers to what? The 12 tribes of Israel. Notice what Gabriel is saying to Mary here, that the child that you're going to bear, the child that is going to be conceiving you, is connected to King David, is connected to Jacob. He is going to rule over Israel, basically. He's going to be a king, a savior, the son of God, King. He hasn't even been born yet, but this is who he's going to be. The child has been given headship over God's kingdom, this is what he's telling her. In this kingdom, we never know an end. Our everlasting kingdom, one of my favorite quotes from the Lord of the Rain series is this, this is what Gandalf said, he says, "The hands of a king are hands of a healer." This type of king is going to be a healer. He was going to bring healing to the land, to his people, he'll be a good king. Not just a regular king, but a good, faithful king who hands with the hands of healing. That's the message about this child, the message of Christmas, the message that interrupted her life, and it should interrupt our life. There's not just any baby in the manger, the savior, the son of God, a king, that's what he was. You see, the message of Christmas is not about the gifts, it's not about the trees, it's about a person. That's it. That's the true meaning of Christmas, it's about a person. You see, the over-commercial out of your Christmas is about materialism. That's why I went out at 12 o'clock at the midnight to go shopping, it's not always a good thing. The over-commercial out of your Christmas distracts us from trimming the Christmas from God's point of view. And from his point of view, it's about his son, his savior, the son of God who has been given kingship over all creation, and whose kingdom is the everlasting kingdom, and so I ask you, are you interrupted with this view of Christmas, or are you just distracted? With all the other things you've got to do, all the other things you've got to get, have you just sat back and pondered who Jesus is? Who is the son of God, savior, king, has it really interrupted your life? I hope you sense the weight of Gabriel's words to Mary. You see, being told you're going to have a son, and you're going to call him Jesus is one thing. But being told you're going to actually bear God's son, who is going to be a king. I mean, that's... I mean, I need to sit down and have another drink. I'm like, what? Give me some Kool-Aid or something, what? I'm going to... What? Wait a minute, what? The son of God, who is a king, is going to... I'm going to bear that child. Okay, Gabriel, this is deep stuff, let me catch my breath, and then Mary asked the question what we always ask, but how can this be? How can this happen? I mean, this is not normal. How can this be since I'm a virgin? You see, Mary assumes they're just going to happen while she's a virgin. Who is that in her question? She assumes that this miracle is going to take place before she marries Joseph. In verses 34 and 37, Gabriel interrupts Mary's life one more time because he tells her that it's going to be a power outside of herself, is going to make that happen. Not your power, Mary, not the power of your husband Mary, but it's going to be God's power. Verse 34 and 37, and Mary said to the angel, "How will this be since I'm a virgin?" And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The power of the most high will overshadow you, therefore the child should be born, should be called holy, the son of God, and behold, your relative Elizabeth and her old age has also conceived the son, and this was a six month with her who had been called barren, but nothing will be impossible with God. Nothing will be impossible with God. From our perspective, the incarnation is impossible, it's impossible for that to happen. But again, we're not God, and with him, nothing is possible. Through the supernatural power of the Lord God, through his Spirit, this was going to take place. This was a miracle, the incarnation was a miracle. How did Christ become man? Christ became man by taking upon himself with true body, a reasonable soul, being conceived in this power, being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, ending with my virgin Mary, born of her yet without sin. Notice that. Why did it have to happen this way? Why did Christ had to be conceived this way and not through natural conception? You know why? Because if he would have been conceived like me, he'd been born with a sinful nature. He doesn't have a sinful nature. He was conceived like we were. He would conceive supernatural, and therefore he was born without sin. He was born perfect. You realize that perfection, without sin, without flaw, without defect, Jesus, he didn't become perfect because he followed all the rules. He was born perfect because he was born a Savior. He was born Son of God. Do you know that by Jesus? You think he became perfect because he followed all God's rules? He was born that way. He resisted sin because he was perfect. That's Jesus. He was born a genuine human, but yet he didn't, he was not born with sin. He was not born broken like we were, like we are. This was a miracle. The first and last of its kind, this is impossible with man. But we can't wrap our minds around it, but with God it's possible. Because it's supernatural. He had the power to make a woman who could not ever have kids have kids. That was her sister, her cousin Elizabeth, and that Gabriel was letting her know you see what God had done for your relatives. She'd been called back for years, and now she's with child. So my God is much bigger than you think he is. He's much bigger than you think he is. And he lets Mary know that he can even do this. And I guess a woman who's a virgin can be with child because the supernatural power guys won't come upon her. And now what was Mary's response? Was it fear? Was she still afraid? Behold, I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be according to your word. Look at where these interruptions led Mary, the greeting, the message to power. It led her to submission, it led her to faith, for fear to faith, and the promises of the Lord God. Notice he doesn't ask her to do nothing. He's making promises of what's going to happen. You're going to be with child. You're going to call this child this. This child is going to be this, this child is going to be that. It's not going to be because of how you raise the child, not because of your power, but this is where it's going to be. He's going to be these things and Mary what trusses and the promises of God had just delivered to her. That's faith. So where are you this morning in terms of your faith? Do you really believe, no Jesus, how a personal relationship with him? I know you may be saying to yourself, what does this have to do with my life? I mean, it's not like Gabriel's going to come to me after I leave this service and talk to me this way, interrupt my life, to interrupt these interruptions to Mary once the beginning of something great, it was the beginning of something wonderful for which you and I benefit from greatly. You don't think we benefit from this? What was taking place here in history? This is not just, this is not a fairy tale. This is not a Disney book. Once upon a time book, this happened, this conversation between Mary and Gabriel happened. He appeared to her. He promised this to her. She was conceived in her virgin state, a child. This is truth, this happened. And the words spoken to Mary, oh favorite one, the Lord is with you. One day, those words will be spoken to anyone that came to say in faith in Christ, that you have not found favor with God through this son. That was words of one day be issued to millions of people through what this child was going to accomplish. Because of what he did, those who come to save in faith in the son, the father says, oh favorite one, the Lord is with you, because you have found favor with me because of your relationship with my son. The call of salvation goes out to all people, and that salvation is only through the son of God and is only applied by the work of his spirit. Do you see the Trinity here? Even in this message to Mary? The father issues this call. The call is going to be fulfilled through the son, and it's going to be applied by the Holy Spirit. It's happening right now, when people come to save in faith, the father, the son, the Holy Spirit, all at work, at once. So they may ask you, has your life been interrupted by the saving work of this child? Has your life been truly interrupted by the true identity of this child? Has your life been interrupted by the authority of this child? Are you interrupted? Are you just distracted with the over-commercialized view of Christmas? Christmas interrupts us to push us more to Christ. Does it push you more to Christ or more to yourself to get more stuff? The table here, it pushes us to Christ as well, doesn't it? When you think about it, it interrupts us. A lot of us are in different places, dealing with different issues, different struggles. The table here interrupts those struggles, because it reminds us of what Christ does for us. It's a visible picture of the gospel, a visible picture of what Christ did upon the cross for all of us. He lived a life we cannot live, and he doubted that we all should die, should have died. If you doubt that the father loves you, look at the cross, that's love, that's love. If you doubt that the father cares about what you're dealing with, look at the cross, that's love. If you doubt that the father cares about your struggles, your brokenness, your pain, look at the cross, he sent Christ, he sent Christ for those struggles, for that pain. The table reminds us of that. The Lord says, "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." The Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ, not the village church, not any denomination, but the Lord God himself. But this is the Lord's table, and it's open to all his sons and daughters who actually trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation, who willingly forsake their sins, for who are members of a congregation that proclaim the gospel in this table is for you. Now the apostle Paul does issue us a warning. He says, "Whoever therefore eats and drinks this bread and unworthy man that would be guilty of concern in the body and blood of Christ." So he says, "Let us examine ourselves so then we may eat and drink of this table." So let us spend a couple of moments now and ask the Holy Spirit to examine our hearts that we may come in a worthy manner. [end]