Family Tree: Mary | Greg Ford | One Church
ICEBREAKER
Share an area of your life that you are going to give yourself more grace in 2022
MESSAGE NOTES
The Family Tree: Mary
[Matthew 1:16]
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
Today I want to help you to look again at what is right in front of you. I’m convinced that sometimes the easiest things to miss are the things that are right in front of you.
Look again at yourself
70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, about 3 days. She was 9 months pregnant, at the age of 15 (or maybe younger) and gave an all-natural birth in a stable.
Sometimes we become so consumed by what God seems to be doing to us, we miss the depth of what He is doing in us. Take another look at yourself.
You might be tired, but your tougher, You might have another scar, but your wiser. This year may have had a few close calls, but your faith is stronger.
You are deeper. You are stronger. You earned your own respect over those 70 miles. You learned how to bounce back & be steadfast. You learned how to forgive & move on. You learned how to make valuable decisions. You learned how to reconcile with your past. You’re being refined. You’re learning how to think, and pray, and forge ahead.
This young girl Mary was becoming a force to be reckoned with. Look again at yourself. Other people may look at you and see the same ol Mary, but you know better. Look again.
Look again at the people around you
At first glance it would be easy to focus on all the people who aren’t there…
[Luke 2:20]
The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
The shepherds came to help her rejoice & refocus (surrounded by hay and mess). Sometimes you forget that a few months ago an angel visited you, and a few minutes ago you were a pregnant virgin.
Sometimes God will send somebody into your life for a season. They were there celebrate the moment (balloons & lamb chops) & to remind her that her that God was in it, present struggle was producing something divine.
Look again at God
Tension between faith in God & personal responsibility
I struggle with this…let me try to frame the tension…God gives us blessings which carry with them a responsibility…He grants us a small bit of power or control (mind to figure things out & make decisions, our money to make things happen, etc)…He possesses limitless power…and then we enter into a strange collaboration. Here’s my question…
When it comes to my God given responsibility what does God expect me to take care of, and what does He plan to do all on His own?
Mary would quickly learn that there was a very real threat to her family…
[Matthew 2:13]
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
Mary…knew that her son was a gift from God (nobody knew this better than her)
- She knew that God trusted her, and had a plan for Jesus life
- She still escaped to Egypt when she perceived a threat
- That’s why personal stories or even bible stories encourage us but don’t fully remove our concern
Ill. Mary did you know that you baby boy would someday walk on water
- she’s like “Yeah He would walk on water someday, and redeem all of mankind on the cross…that’s why I’m sweating bullets over here as I attempt to smuggle Him into Egypt in the middle of the night.
- What would’ve happened if she defiantly refused to leave Bethlehem?
[Matthew 2:14-15]
That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod’s death…
It would not have sounded completely strange to Joseph that they should find refuge in Egypt. There was a large Jewish community in Egypt. It wasn’t strange that the Holy Spirit would guide Joseph to take the family there. Egypt was a natural place to which to flee. It was nearby, a well-ordered Roman province outside Herod’s jurisdiction; and, according to Philo (writing circa A.D. 40), its population included about a million Jews.
Faith isn’t always defined by stubbornness. It’s often defined by flexibility.
Pregnant Mary…9 months before a census, making her due date during a week she would be required to travel, no immediate family around, all the hotels are booked, have to scrappy & find shelter in a barn, give birth next to live stock with no drugs, a bunch of rowdy shepherds show up with balloons & lamb chops to throw a party when you need one & God sends some wise men from the the other side of the world show up with a bunch of money to help pay for your hideout in Egypt.
Pastor, you’re telling me God’s in this? Yeah? In the strange collaboration between our responsibility & God’s divinity. Our need & his provision He writes amazing stories. Look again.
[Luke 2:19]
but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
[Luke 2:10-12]
but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Shepherds got a vocal message from Angels & the reassurance about their fear.
[Matthew 2:9-11]
the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
When you look at yourself what do you see? Can you see God in your story?
Who is around you this year that you may have overlooked?
Has God sent someone in your life to help refocus you?
When it comes to my God given responsibility what does God expect me to take care of, and what does He plan to do all on His own?
Do you see what God is still producing in you for your future?