Naylor
Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
--
turn in Bibles to Luke 1:26-38
Luke 1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin
pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The
virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who
are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly
troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But
the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32
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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s
descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary
asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 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. 36 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. 37 For no word from
God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s
servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel
left her.
-- several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit
an old growth forest in the Pacific Northwest -- now, we’ve all been in forests
before, but when you enter a grove of old growth trees, it’s entirely different
from anything you’ve known before -- it feels like you have entered a cathedral
-- and your eyes are naturally drawn upwards towards the canopy -- which may be
hundreds of feet above you
--
you are dwarfed by the size of the trees -- the immensity of their trunks and
their dizzying heights -- and it seems like everything within those forests are
all connected -- they all belong there -- they are all one with each other --
the birds -- the animals -- the ferns growing in the dampness and shade under
the trees -- it is a very unique experience that you can’t have anywhere else
--
but while we were standing there in awe and in wonder -- looking up and just
taking in the scenery -- our guide explained that we weren’t seeing all that
was there -- that there was something else present there that was the most
important member of all and that was hidden beneath our feet
--
he explained that there was a vast fungal network that existed below the ground
that connects the whole forest together in a mysterious way that science is
just now beginning to understand
--
apparently, this fungal or mycorrhizal network weaves in and out of the roots
of all the plants in the forest, and transfers water, nitrogen, carbon and
other minerals to the trees -- the guide said that without this mycorrhizal
network hidden within this delicate ecosystem, this forest would cease to exist
-- that even though it had been forgotten by science, this underground fungal
network was integral to the very life of the forest
--
last week, we started the Season of Advent with a sermon series focused on the
forgotten people of Christmas -- I pointed out that in our Christmas stories we
tend to focus on the major characters in the Christmas story -- Jesus and
Joseph and Mary -- the three wise men -- and sometimes even the shepherds
--
but there were many other people and spiritual beings who were part of that
first Christmas -- people we tend to overlook, but whose parts and roles in the
story of the first Advent were no less important than the others and whose
participation and presence in the Christmas story still has meaning for us
today even though their presence may have been hidden in the annals of history
and forgotten by Christians to this day
-- last week,
we looked at the first of the Christmas forgotten and spent some time
discussing angels -- who they really were -- why God had created them -- and
why God sent them to earth on that first Christmas Day
--
this morning, we are going to look at another one of the overlooked characters
in the Christmas story -- the Holy Spirit
--
as I was preparing for this series of messages, it occurred to me how we tend
to gloss over the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our churches -- I've
mentioned this before, but I've noticed that nothing seems to confuse people
more than the thought of the Holy Spirit -- who He is -- and what He does --
and how He works in our lives today
--
even though we recognize the Trinity, in all reality, we tend to only focus on
two of the three persons of the Godhead -- we pray every Sunday to the Father in
the name of Jesus -- and we focus our sermons and our lessons around the
actions of God the Father and Jesus in the Old Testament and the New Testament,
respectively
-- but it is
not common for us to speak to or of the Holy Spirit -- He gets mentioned at
Pentecost each year, when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit to the
disciples at that time -- and we talk about the Holy Spirit’s presence at the
baptism of Jesus -- but other than that, we don’t spend a lot of time focusing
on the Spirit -- as Francis Chan wrote, “The Holy Spirit is the forgotten God”
-- and when
we do refer to the Spirit in our sermons or our prayers, we usually address Him
in the third person -- we rarely speak to Him directly or pray to Him directly
-- for instance, we might pray to the Father to send His Spirit to us today --
to fill us with His Spirit -- but rarely is it that we pray to the Spirit
Himself and ask for His presence or His power in our lives -- our focus is
always on the Father or on Jesus
--
why is that? -- why don't we pray to Him? -- why don't we recognize Him more in
our churches and in our lives?
--
we know who the Holy Spirit is -- He is the third person of the Trinity -- He
is and was and has always been God -- even before there was time, He was the
great "I Am" -- even before the creation of the earth, He was part of
the Godhead with the Father and the Son
--
The Holy Spirit is, in a very real sense, Emmanuel -- "God with us"
-- because the Bible tells us that He indwells and lives within believers --
that our bodies are His temple, and He resides within us -- God with us all the
time
--
so, if the Holy Spirit is fully and completely God -- just like the Father and
the Son are fully and completely God -- then why don't we pray to Him like we
do them? -- why don't we focus on Him like we do them? -- why don't we rely on
His presence in our lives like we do them?
--
here we are at Christmas -- that special time of the year when we are
celebrating the first advent of Christ -- the story of God's miraculous grace
in sending Jesus to earth for us -- and what do we tell our kids -- what do we
tell the world -- about Christmas?
--
we basically summarize John 3:16 and the story of Christ from the gospels and
we tell them that God loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to
come to earth -- to be born to a virgin named Mary in the town of Bethlehem on
Christmas Day -- so that He might live a sinless life in our place and so that
He might die on the cross and receive the punishment we were due and so that we
might receive eternal life through Him
--
isn't that the story of Christmas? -- isn't that the story of Jesus? -- isn't
that what we portray in our hymns and our plays and our nativity dramas? -- and
what is missing? -- the Holy Spirit -- He's not there -- we haven't included
Him
--
but the Bible tells us that He was there -- that the Holy Spirit was an
integral part of the first advent -- that it was the presence of the Holy
Spirit who quickened the life of Jesus within Mary -- that it was the Holy
Spirit who empowered Jesus to go forth and begin His ministry -- and that it
was the Holy Spirit who was there to comfort and empower the disciples who were
left after Jesus ascended back into Heaven
--
so, this morning, I want us to spend a few moments thinking about the Holy
Spirit and His role at Christmas -- remembering how His presence changed the
history of this world -- how it changed time -- and how it continues to change
and transform lives today
II. Scripture Lesson -- Luke 1:26-38
--
if you would, look back with me at this passage in Luke 1 -- just to remind you
of the context, Luke is beginning the story of Jesus -- who Jesus was and why
He came in the first place -- and just like all good stories, Luke starts in
the beginning -- telling us how this God-man Jesus came to earth in the first
place
--
so far in Chapter 1, Luke has connected the coming of Christ with the
prophecies of the Old Testament -- telling us that God was sending a final
prophet to earth before the coming of the Messiah -- John the Baptist -- who
would pave the way for Jesus and prepare the world for His coming
--
by the time we get to verse 26, Gabriel has already visited Zechariah, John's
father, and told him to expect a child to be born in his old age -- and we read
that Elizabeth, Zechariah's wife -- Mary's cousin -- is six months pregnant
with John the Baptist
--
the time is right for the Messiah to come -- for the Savior to enter the world
--
so, look back at verse 26 and let's catch up with Luke's story
Luke 1:26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy,
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin
pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The
virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who
are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly
troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But
the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32
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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s
descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
-- this is part of the story that
we are very familiar with -- Gabriel has come to earth again and this time he
appears to Mary -- passing on to her the good news that God has chosen her to
bear the Messiah -- the Son of the Most High -- she is to name Him,
"Jesus" -- "Yeshua" -- meaning "God saves" -- for He has been sent into the world to save
the people from their sins
--
verse 34
Luke 1:34 “How will this
be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 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. 36 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. 37 For no word from
God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s
servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel
left her.
-- now this is what I wanted you
to see -- Mary accepts the word of God given through Gabriel -- she believes it
will happen just as he said -- her only question is, "How?" --
"I'm not married -- I've never been with a man -- how will this come to
pass?"
--
and Gabriel gives her the answer that is the focus of our discussion today --
in verse 35 Gabriel tells her, "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."
--
let's unpack that verse and look at it in a little more detail
--
first, and foremost, I wanted to call your attention to the presence of the
Holy Spirit in this passage -- although we never mention Him in our Christmas
plays or in our Christmas hymns, He was the divine spark that brought about the
first advent -- the first coming of Jesus to our world
--
I hope you noticed the description of the Trinity in this passage -- these
verses mention God the Father -- Jesus -- and the Holy Spirit
--
although the writers of the Bible were still struggling with the concept of the
Trinity -- of One God in three persons -- you can see the beginnings of the
Doctrine of the Trinity in passages just like this
--
this passage reminds us of the relationship between the three persons of the
Godhead -- they are one -- and where one is, all are -- with the exception of
that one moment on the cross when Jesus bore the punishment for our sins, the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have never been separated -- they have always been
together -- working together -- to fulfill their purposes and their plans for
us and for this world
-- we will never truly understand the Trinity -- how
they can exist as separate persons but be one God -- it's something we have to
accept on faith -- knowing that God has chosen to exist and to function in this
way -- and knowing that, although each person of the Godhead relates to us in a
different way, they are all still fully and completely God
--
in this case, we see the three persons of the Trinity coming together for the
sole purpose of reconciling man to God through the person of Jesus Christ
--
secondly, Gabriel tells Mary here that the Holy Spirit will come upon her --
there's an important distinction here that we need to recognize -- the Bible
tells us that we are all sinners -- that we have sinned and have fallen short
of the glory of God -- the Bible also tells us that God cannot abide with sin
-- He cannot live with sin -- He cannot look on sin
--
and, so, before the cross of Calvary -- before Jesus died on the cross to pay
the penalty for our sins -- reconciling us with God -- God could not indwell us
in the presence of the Holy Spirit -- instead, the Bible tells us that from
Genesis 1 until the cross of Calvary that the Holy Spirit would come upon
believers -- He would rest upon believers -- His power would fill them, but His
presence did not indwell them
--
we see that here -- contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church, Mary was
just like us -- she was a sinner and the curse of original sin was upon her,
just like us -- she was a sinful being simply because she was a person -- an
heir of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden -- and so when the Holy Spirit
came at Christmas, He did not indwell her -- instead, He came upon her -- He
allowed His presence to overshadow her so that He might fulfill His purposes
through her
--
third, Gabriel tells Mary that after the Holy Spirit comes upon her, that His
power will overshadow her -- there's a spiritual truth there that we need to
understand -- when God comes into our lives through the presence of the Holy
Spirit, His power comes with Him -- it is God's power -- working in us and
through us -- that enables us to fulfill the purposes and plans of God for our
lives and for the lives of others
--
the thing about the power of the Holy Spirit, though, is that we can stop it
from working in our lives -- although as Christians we are indwelt by the Holy
Spirit, the Bible tells us that we can grieve Him -- we can quench His power in
our lives
--
a good analogy is the water in our homes -- the power of the Holy Spirit is
like that water -- it is contained there within pipes inside our house -- but
we have to allow it to flow -- we have to open the faucet and let it out -- we
can either open the faucet wide open and let it just pour out -- or we can just
barely open the faucet and let it just drip
--
in the same way, we have a choice to make with the power of the Holy Spirit --
we can let Him pour out His power through us and our lives -- or we can
restrict His flow -- and not experience His transforming power as God intended
--
in his book, "Flying Closer to the Flame," Chuck Swindoll has a great
illustration about our ability to quench the power of the Holy Spirit in our
lives
--
he writes that "in 1983, John Sculley quit his job at Pepsico to become
the president of Apple Computer -- He took a big risk leaving his prestigious
position with a well-established firm to join ranks with an unproven little
outfit that offered no guarantees -- only the excitement of one man's
transforming vision
--
“Scully says he made the risky move after Apple cofounder Steve Jobs goaded him
with the question, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling
sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?""
--
the Holy Spirit offers us His power as He indwells our lives and lives in our
bodies -- it's our choice whether we use that power to change the world or
quench it and accomplish next to nothing
--
lastly, Gabriel tells Mary that the power of the Holy Spirit would overshadow
her and that she would carry holiness within her womb -- that she would bear
the holy son of the Lord Most High
--
this verse reminds us that the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested in our
lives in various ways -- it is expressed through our spiritual gifts -- which
are nothing more than the actual presence and power of God working through us
--
it is expressed when God gives us the words to speak to another person -- when
we don't know what to say, but we end up saying just the right thing to comfort
another person -- to lead them to the Father
--
it is expressed when we remember the teachings of Jesus -- when the Holy Spirit
calls to our hearts and minds the words that Jesus gave us -- and helps us to
apply them to our lives and our situations where we need to know what to do
--
it is expressed when we try to communicate with God -- even when we don't know
what to say, the Holy Spirit speaks on our behalf
--
it is expressed when God gives us strength and power to do that which we could
not do on our own
--
we call this expansive, overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit working in our
lives to make us holy as He is holy, "Sanctification" -- it is a
grace of God -- it is God giving us what we don't deserve -- making us into
people that we couldn't be apart from Him
--
in other words, the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives makes us holy -- it
sets us apart -- it separates us from the world for God -- making us become
more and more like Him every day
--
the presence of the Holy Spirit always results in transformed lives -- it
always results in holiness
--
isn't that the true message of Christmas? -- that through the power of the Holy
Spirit, a virgin's life was transformed and she bore the Son of God -- that
through the power of the Holy Spirit, the world was transformed as the Son of
God came to claim His own -- that through the power of the Holy Spirit, the
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes had come to conquer sin and death and win
eternal life for all
--
this Christmas, as we light our advent candles -- as we sing our Christmas
hymns and decorate our homes -- as we gather around our trees to exchange
presents and celebrate the birth of Jesus -- let's not forget to recognize and
praise the Holy Spirit -- the One who indwells us and empowers us -- the One
who fills us with His presence -- the One who transforms our lives and the
lives of others through us -- the One who made possible the coming of Christ at
Christmas
--
in the Emmaus movement, one of our traditions is to pray together a prayer to
the Holy Spirit -- to recognize His presence in our lives as part of the Holy
Trinity -- and to call on Him to move in our lives and make us into the people
that God has called us to be
--
so, as we close, allow me to lead us in this prayer to the Holy Spirit, as we
worship Him this Advent Season
--
let us pray
--
Come, Holy Spirit -- Fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the
fire of your love -- Send forth your
Spirit and they shall be created -- and You shall renew the face of the earth
-- O God who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the
faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever
enjoy your consolations -- through Christ our Lord -- Amen (Prayer to the Holy
Spirit, Emmaus Handbook, Page 48)
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