Extraordinary, pt. 2 | Sermon Notes
Extraordinary: How God uses Normal People
Advent Part 2
Pastor Chris Pletcher
December 15, 2024
Luke 1:26-45 // In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And 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. 36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
What do we know about Mary?
Mary was “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David”
In betrothal, you were already considered married, but you would not live together and consummate the marriage until after the wedding.
The timing matters because of the supernatural nature of her conception.
Overshadow is a beautiful word… used also in the transfiguration!
“therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”
“House of David” is historically and prophetically NECESSARY, not just significant, because of the Covenant that YHWH made with David…
2 Samuel 7:12-17 // When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
HOUSE - THRONE - KINGDOM
It’s amazing that Mary did not even bat an eye at the prospect that HER SON would be the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.
It’s also beautiful that the angel ANSWERED HER REQUEST for more information!
Do you ever dialogue with God?
Have you asked Him for more information about the promises He has spoken over your life?
Mary’s HUMILITY created a landing pad for the FAVOR by God
“humble estate” used twice in the Magnificat
Means to “be made low”, “to level or reduce to a plain”, “to depress oneself”, “devoid of all haughtiness”
Daniel 10:12 // Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.
James 4:4-10 // You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
HUMILITY is a magnet for the favor of God. This is such an interesting paradigm, because the word for FAVOR here is grace… the greeting of “O favored one” perplexed Mary and has honestly perplexed scholars ever since.
“Favored One” = to give grace to; to make acceptable and lovely; to make one deserving of love
Grace is a favor done without expectation of return. It is the ABSOLUTE FREENESS of the lovingkindness of God. Grace is only motivated by the bounty of love in the heart of the GIVER. It is an absolute free gift.
And yet she “FOUND FAVOR” with God, meaning she obtained, or gained His undeserved love… How? By recognizing that she was completely lowly and undeserving of it.
Luke 18:9-14 // He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Humility is the beginning of our justification, which is the beginning of our beautification.
Satan was so beautiful, yet his beauty became a source of pride which ultimately brought him incredibly low.
When we go low, the lord begins to beautify us, then he can exalt us because our hearts have learned to live humbled in His presence.
Do you want to be caught up in God’s extraordinary redemptive story like Mary? We must learn how to humble ourselves before Him and deal with our pride.
Mary was DEVOTED to God’s Word, as seen in the overflow of her SONG
Luke 1:46-55 // And Mary said,“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Her song is full of Scripture—by some counts, there are 10 quotations of and allusions to the Old Testament scriptures.
Her devotion to God’s word taught her God’s character and ways. This is significant because throughout Scripture we see God choosing to interact and partner with those who seek to KNOW and UNDERSTAND who He is.
His primary essence as the Savior, Deliverer, Rescuer
Colossians 1:13-14 // He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Galatians 1:3-5 // Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luke 19:8-10 // And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
His complementary attributes of MIGHT and MERCY
Luke 1:49-52 // “He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate”
James 4:4-6 // You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Mary was a SERVANT of the Lord
Luke 1:38 // And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Servant = to have your will completely absorbed in the will of another
When God speaks, it creates… an opportunity to serve.
Luke 1:45 // And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
When God speaks something that seems impossible, do you consider your weakness or His ability?
Response //
Lord, what do you want me to walk away with today?
How can I devote myself to Your word so that I can know You more?
What have You spoken over my life? Am I ready to serve that word?