Luke 1:26-55

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Chosen for a Great Purpose vv.26-34

You were chosen for a great purpose!  Did you know that you will reach people for the gospel that a pastor or missionary cannot? 

“It has been said that a coach will influence more people in one year than most people will in a lifetime.” – FCA

Ephesians 1:3-10 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

Created by God’s Power vv.35-38

I want for us to really pay close attention to verse 37.  God will do what He wants!  It’s rigged for our good and His glory!  Again looking at Ephesians turn with me to see this key verse in Ephesians 6:10.  Paul is telling them (the Ephesians) to put on the full armor of God.  He begins this in verse 10 as he writes, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”  The armor is not effective if you don’t trust in its Creator!  God is not asking us to be Self- Dependent.  God is asking us to be Savior-Reliant!  You cannot break the chains of addiction, forgive the unforgivable, or face your worst fear without the powerful strength of Christ.  In fact we see this in Acts 1:8.  They didn’t go sharing their faith until the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them.  You were created to live in God’s power, not yours!

Celebrate the Messiah with Glorious Praise vv.39-55

The purpose of any instrument of God’s choosing is to point to the glory of Jesus.  We are not to praise the instrument but the Orchestrator of those instruments.  Mary, as awesome as she was, is not to be worshipped!  Only Christ is to be worshipped.  You and I, as awesome as God uses us, are to deflect any glory for ourselves and reflect the glory of God continually pointing to Christ.