With God, Nothing Is Impossible

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on the third Sunday in Advent, the 11th of December, 2022, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIz4WuP8igQstkEOq1AMTg.]

Today is the third Sunday in Advent, when we anxiously await the coming of our Lord into this world.  Yet our anxiousness is not one of anxiety, for we are filled with a sense of peace that only Jesus can give.  We are at peace in our waiting for we know what He brings to all who would believe.  But in the months before Jesus was born, unbelievable events occurred that may indeed have caused some level of anxiety.

Last week we heard that an older married couple, who were childless because of infertility, had miraculously conceived a son.  And now, something even more incredible is about to happen.  Something that never happened before, and will never happen again.  Something that all of our human wisdom would say is absolutely impossible.  But we’re about to see that with God, nothing is impossible.

Please listen and follow along to the continuation of our Christmas story as presented by the Apostle Luke in the 1st chapter of his Gospel account, verses 26 through 56, and I’ll be reading this from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…

26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by 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. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

46 And Mary said:

“My soul declares the greatness of the Lord,

47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him

From generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,

And exalted the lowly.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things,

And the rich He has sent away empty.

54 He has helped His servant Israel,

In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers,

To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

56 And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

--Luke 1:26-56 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for loving us so much that You would give Your own Son to the world.  And thank You for such an amazing story of His birth.  In this You showed once again that nothing is impossible for You.  Forgive us, please Father, when we put more trust in human wisdom than in You and what our Bible tells us about You.  Father, please help us share the true reason for this season with the doubters and non-believers.  And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who so willingly do his bidding.  Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day.  As we open our hearts to You, reassure us that nothing is impossible for You, that You can do anything, and that everything You do is for our good.  This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Charles F. Kettering once noted that, “When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved, I'd place a table outside the meeting room with a sign: ‘Leave slide rules here’.  If I didn't do that, I'd find someone reaching for his slide rule.  Then he'd be on his feet saying, 'Boss, you can’t do it.’”

How many times do we question God?  How often do we think He can't do something, or won't do it for us?

Slide rules are definitely an artifact of the past, but we simply replaced them with scientific calculators and computers.  And we have the internet we can turn to for answers to all our questions.  These are all man-made tools and human knowledge, human wisdom, all of which is fallible, subject to fail.

As late as 1934, science made the claim that it is aerodynamically impossible for a bumblebee to fly.  Their wings are too small, their bodies too hefty, to sustain flight.  I guess the scientists forgot to tell the bumblebees - and God - for bumblebees can indeed fly.

Man quite often has to go, “Oops”.  Not God.  With Him, nothing is impossible, and nothing fails.

Family, our Holy Bible is filled with beautiful scripture, and our reading this morning is among the best. For in it we not only receive the announcement of the upcoming birth of our Lord, but also what many consider to be the most beautiful song in the Bible: the song of Mary, also called the Magnificat.

“My soul magnifies the Lord”, is the usual form of the opening of the song.  I chose to use an alternate meaning from the Greek where “magnify” becomes “declare the greatness”, for that is what magnifying God really is: declaring His greatness.  And this is what Mary was trying to do, in human words and human terms.  Because God was doing the impossible.

Backing up just a little, the angel Gabriel paid a visit to Mary and made her a promise.  If you remember from last week, this is the same angel who came to Zacharias and made him a promise.  In both cases, the promise involved the birth of a child, a seemingly impossible event in each.

Like Zacharias, Mary had her doubts that she could conceive and give birth at this time, not because she was too old but because she was still a virgin.  She had not “known” a man, in the biblical sense.  Gabriel assured her that she had found favor with God, and that with Him, nothing can or will be impossible.  She would conceive, just like her relative Elizabeth, but for her it would be of the Holy Spirit and not of man.  To her credit, Mary accepted this, saying “Let it be so”.

And then, when Mary went to visit Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy.  Elizabeth, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit and recognized that Mary was the mother of our Lord.  So Mary sang.  Filled with God’s Holy Spirit and overcome with Joy, Mary sang and declared the greatness of the Lord and the great things He has done.

When Gabriel first appeared to Mary and told her what was about to happen, she had to have experienced some level of fear and anxiety, along with a hefty dose of disbelief.  “This is impossible!  I can’t be pregnant – I’ve never even been with a man in that way!  What is going to happen to me?!!?”

But then a calming peace came over her, a miraculous peace in an impossible situation.  One might even say it was a peace that surpassed all understanding.  Even though the times would soon be anything but peaceful, for now, Mary was at peace.  And if we think about it, we’d have to say, “Why not?”.  After all, she was now carrying the Prince of Peace within her, next to her heart.

Much later on, the Apostle John quoted the adult Jesus in the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, saying in verse 27…

27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

--John 14:27 (NKJV)

The situation that Mary was thrust into would be nerve-racking for any of us, and yet she found peace, a peace not of this world, but of the Child forming within her.

Someone now unknown once said, "Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always."  Even after His human existence ended and He returned to heaven, Jesus has never left us alone.  Yet there was a time when we left Him.

In verses 32 and 33 of the 16th chapter of his Gospel account, John recorded Jesus as the end of His time on this earth approached…

32 "But the time is coming — indeed it is here now — when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving Me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

--John 32-33 (NLT)

During the worst stretch of His human life, Jesus’ closest friends abandoned Him, denied Him, ran away fearing for their own lives.  And yet, He was never alone, for His Father God was always with Him, just as Jesus is always with us.

If we truly believe this and hold onto it, then we too will be at peace as was Mary.  Yes, it’s going to be tough.  Jesus told us so right there.  While we walk this earth we will have many trials and sorrows.  Not that we might have or may have some, but that we will have many.  But He has overcome this world.  And He is still with us.  He will always be with us, giving us His divine peace, the same peace He gave His mother while still in her womb.  For with God - with Jesus - nothing is impossible.

Peace be with you.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, how great You are!  For You, nothing is impossible - there is nothing that You cannot do.  You gave the gift of a son to a couple advanced in their years, and to a young woman while still a virgin.  And all this to accomplish Your will, Your great plan for the salvation of man.  Thank You, Father, for loving us this much.  Thank You for giving us this beautiful story of our Lord’s birth on this earth.  Forgive us, please Father, when we are numbed by the busyness and blinded by the hype of the holiday season and forget the true meaning of Christmas.  It’s all about the gift of Your Son Jesus coming to save us from our sin.  Forgive us when we are too timid or fearful to spread the Gospel.  Please help us share the Good News with others as we all await our Lord’s return.  And Father, please help us remain strong, faithful, and true through all that we face in this age.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, just as the wise men of old brought gifts to honor You, we exchange gifts with one another to show our love.  Thank You, Jesus, for the greatest gift of all, the gift of salvation You offer.  Lord, You also give us the peace to accept and endure whatever comes our way, because You promise to never leave us alone.  Thank You, Jesus, for coming to us and then sacrificing Yourself so that we might live.  Please help us remember that if we truly believe in You, we will follow You and do as You command, carrying out our mission of bringing others to You as Your disciples.  Help us show non-believers what this holiday season really means to us and to them.  And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.