Ready, The King has come. 

This time of year is that time that we look at the birth of Jesus--God comes to earth as a human little baby boy--and we wonder, and we celebrate and stand in awe of him. But as Luke, a historian whom God used to write about Jesus' life, explains to us: for one young Jewish girl Jesus' birth was no simple matter.

Luke 1:26–38 NLT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favoured woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favour with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
 
Can you imagine what that day must have been like for Mary? How frightened she must have been? What God was asking her to do would cost her dearly. There she was, as young as 12 years old, knowing the impossibility of what the angel told her would happen. Understanding that to become pregnant before her wedding night would open her up to ridicule, rejection, and possibly doom her never to marry which, in that day, meant she may be forced to spend her life as a beggar or a prostitute. Yet she placed her trust in God, that she would give birth to the King who would save the world and whose Kingdom would last forever.

Mary submitted herself to God, trusted him, and allowed him to enable her to accomplish his purpose for her.

What God is telling you here is this:

 Trust that King Jesus can do what He will do through you.

You need to trust that King Jesus can do what he will do through you!

You're not too big for the plan that he has for you, nor are you too small because

God's ability to use you is not dependent on how useful you think you are.

Mary was just a young peasant girl, likely going about her business doing some kind of work around her family's home, when the angel appeared to her. She was ordinary. In fact, in the eyes of the world, she was probably less than ordinary. Yet God chose to use her--and use her he did!

When Gabriel spoke to Mary, saying that she was highly favoured, he meant that she had received God's grace. She could never be good enough for what God had for her--no one is good enough on their own!--but God gave his grace. In Ephesians 1:6, Paul wrote:

Ephesians 1:6 NIV

To the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

That phrase, "freely given," is the Greek word charitoō and is the same word that is translated "highly favoured" here in today's passage. You see, you don't earn God's grace; he freely gives it. And when God gives his grace, you are highly favoured by him.

The great thing is that the birth of Jesus was the start of God's grace being brought to earth in an even more powerful way. Jesus would be executed on a Roman cross, but unlike any before him or after him...he was completely blameless and innocent. His birth leads to his death, and his death leads to his resurrection. See, in his death, he bore the weight of your rebellion against God, and in his resurrection, he won the victory over death. Now, anyone who believes in him receives God's grace. In other words, anyone who chooses to make Jesus their King is "highly favoured" by God.

Whether you are a 12-year-old peasant, an 85-year-old billionaire, or someone in between: God's ability to use you is not dependent on how useful you think you are. He can use you! Just trust that King Jesus can do what he will do through you.

As the angel Gabriel reassured Mary, the word of God will never fail. Nothing will be impossible with God. You see, whoever you are, wherever you've been, whatever you've done, you have a purpose, and when you trust that King Jesus can do what he is going to do through you, you will see that.

Jesus makes what you think impossible, possible.

Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.

Sometimes, we think that we know what can be done, and when Jesus tells us what he wants us to do, we say, "Everyone knows that's impossible!" Anyone with half a brain knows that an 88-year-old barren woman shouldn't be able to have a baby, and for sure, a young virgin girl can't get pregnant without first having sex! Yet Jesus makes what you think is impossible possible. He's not interested in what "smart" people say is possible. He's interested in what he's said he's going to do and in whether or not you'll trust that King Jesus can do what he will do through you!

In Mary's case, she was to give birth to the promised Messiah, the Son of God, the King of Israel whose kingdom would never end, the King above all Kings who has brought and is bringing the Kingdom of God into the midst of us all here on earth!

And as she was told this magnificent thing, she knew just what to do--something that you must learn too.

Humble yourself before King Jesus.

Giving your life to Jesus isn't something that only affects you in the future; giving your life to Jesus means that you make him King now, and you receive the life-giving Holy Spirit now. You've never been in charge, but sometimes, we like to pretend we are. Now is the time to humble yourself before Jesus.

Mary responded to God's call: "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true." She humbled herself before God. She recognized that she was to be a humble servant before him. And in that humility, the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, she conceived, and she gave birth to the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Will you humble yourself today and trust that King Jesus can do what he will do through you?

Will you join me in beginning to discover your purpose and how we can live as members of the Kingdom of God here on earth?

Perhaps you're like me, and you're not very excited about what you feel God is saying to you. That's fine, but here's a challenge: let's all allow him to help us as we go forward, let's trust in his ability to do what he has said he will do, and let's humble ourselves--not following our own ways, but saying "Yes, Lord" in response to him.

When I look back at the choice I had to make back then, whether to trust that Jesus could do what he would do through me, I am so glad that I decided to follow him. Yes, there were things that I had to give up, but I gained so much else. When I think of who I could have become had I ignored God's call, I am so glad that I obeyed my King, and I hope that all of us will continually be listening for where the Holy Spirit is leading us and that we will all trust that King Jesus can do what he is going to do through you.