To all the mamas in the house this morning, come on, today's your day. Now, Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas in the house this morning. As a matter of fact, I found it fitting that on Mother's Day, we were going to take a look at one of the greatest moms in history.
Can we do that this morning? I know, I know we're getting ready to talk to mamas, but let me just tell you, there is always something to learn from scriptures. So don't just tune me out, turn me up. God has got something for us this morning. And if you believe it, let me hear your amen. So if you have your Bibles, come on, how many of y'all still bring your Bible to church? Praise God. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to the Book of Luke, chapter one, the Book of Luke, chapter one. Some of you guys are like, he's getting ready to preach a Christmas message.
Calm down, we're gonna be all right. The Book of Luke, chapter one. This is what the Bible says, verse 26. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, greetings, favored woman, for the Lord is with you. But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.
It sounds good, but let me read the fine print, come on now. And the angel told her, don't be afraid, Mary. Yeah, don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. Mary, being practical, come on, stopped and looked at Gabriel and said, how is this going to work?
Because I've never been with a man before. The Bible says, the angel replied to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high God will overshadow you. Therefore, the Holy One to be born will be called the son of God.
And consider your relative, Elizabeth. Even she has conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month for her who has been called childless, for nothing will be impossible with God.
I am the Lord's servant, said Mary. May it be done to me according to your word than the angel left her. This morning, I want to talk to you for a brief Mother's Day moment from the title, Paving the Way. Paving the Way. Let's pray. God, I thank you that you're here.
I thank you that you're moving. I pray that you would speak to our hearts. Help us to see how good you are and what you're doing on the earth. In Jesus' name, and the family said, Amen.
Paving the Way. I don't know about you guys, but I absolutely love how God moves through Scripture. I love how God moves through Scripture, the way He threads and interweaves all throughout the 66 books of the Bible. I love His intentionality with His penmanship as He writes the stories of the Gospel. I love the way He pieces things together like a jigsaw puzzle, the way He weaves stories and crisis and promises together like a masterful tapestry. I love the way God casts, directs, and produces as though we are in a play or a movie. How many of you know the creator of the universe is creative?
And I love the way he does it. If you are familiar with this text, then you would know that in the first act, God would create Adam and Eve and give them an opportunity to choose Him. We would choose poorly, and as a result, all of creation would have to suffer the consequences. I know you guys are the third service, so you're a little bit holier, but I'm telling you, it's going to be hard for me when I get to heaven not to walk right up to Adam and just.
All of creation has to suffer the consequences because of Adam and Eve. So as a result, God would go with them as a guide, and still we would choose other than God. So God would raise up prophets and judges to speak on His behalf, and still we would turn a deaf ear towards God from prophet to prophet, all the way up to the prophet Malachi, who would be the last prophet in the Old Testament and deliver the last prophecy. That prophecy would say that I'm going to send the prophet Elijah before the day of the Lord, and it would be Elijah that would turn the hearts of God to the fathers, or the hearts of fathers to the children, and the hearts of children to the fathers. And that was the last prophecy we heard before all of a sudden, dead silence, dramatic pause. And for 400 years, no new prophets were being raised up, and there was nothing new being revealed to His people. But might I remind you this morning that just because God seems quiet doesn't mean He isn't moving. For 400 years, God is seemingly quiet as He is setting up the stage for His grand entrance, and within His entrance, He would fulfill the prophecy of Malachi by allowing Elizabeth to be pregnant with John the Baptist.
You all know the story. You're all theologians in the room. Zechariah and Elizabeth are struggling to have a baby, and they're getting frustrated, they're getting angry, and now she is past the age of childbearing years, and the frustration is growing.
The fear is mounting. The questions of why are beginning to arise when all of a sudden Gabriel shows up and says, Zechariah, your prayers have been answered. And Elizabeth would have to wrestle between why in the world would you cause me so much pain? She would now give birth to John the Baptist, and John the Baptist would be the one that would carry the spirit of Elijah. And now all of a sudden, what seemed like silence is now coming together as God is moving the pieces for a miraculous display of God's power. And the Word would become flesh, and He would dwell among us. And after 400 years of silence, after 400 years of a dramatic pause, now all of a sudden, the good news is getting ready to be released. The kingdom of hand is getting ready to be at hand, but before it could be at hand, it had to first settle within a womb. I wonder if there are any mamas in the house this morning.
Let me hear you make some noise for the mamas. According to Genesis 3, the curse and the blessing would all be linked back to a woman. Oh, Eve would be tricked into partaking of the forbidden fruit, but Mary would be called to bearing everlasting fruit. And now God is getting ready to make His grand entrance into the room with celestial bodies being shaken, and a choir of heavenly hosts getting ready to sing glory. But before He does, He has to stop and choose a supporting role by the name Mary.
Listen to what the Bible says. It says that in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth. I absolutely love that the Bible says that God sent Gabriel, because that word sent, it actually means it's apostolo in the Greek. It actually means to be dispatched. Oh, come on, it is as though God is silent for 400 years, but the cries of His people like He has done time and time again are beginning to grow louder. And now all of a sudden, in the right moment, He looks over at Gabriel and says, I am dispatching you.
Not only does it mean dispatched, but it means to be dispatched with a goal and a purpose. Oh, Gabriel, I am sending you with a goal and a purpose, and the goal and the purpose is for you to find a young girl by the name of Mary. So on your way, I need you to stop in Benson. Come on. I can only imagine Gabriel's face as God is telling him to go to Nazareth. I can only imagine Gabriel would be like, I don't even know what you're talking about. Can you give me some map quests?
Come on, give me some directions. I have no idea where Nazareth is. You want me to go to Nazareth? You mean the small, obscure village in the Galilean countryside? So small that it's not even mentioned in the Hebraic Old Testament, the Tanakh, it's not even mentioned by Jewish historians like Josephus? So small that later, Nathaniel would respond to Philip when Philip says, I found the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Nathaniel would look at him and say, Nazareth?
Oh, does anything good come from Nazareth? Which clues me in to our innate nature to think that if something is obscure, it must be insignificant. But I am here to tell you that in the kingdom of God, obscurity is almost always used as a prerequisite to being chosen. Oh, it's the upside-down, topsy-turvy kingdom of the living God. The first shall be last, the last shall be first.
If you want to be honored, then you need to serve. Everything that is in obscurity, God will use for His glory. Oh, my goodness, I am thrilled to announce to you this morning that our God is in the business of taking the overlooked and using them for His glory. I know, mama, sometimes you feel as though you are overlooked. I know, mama, you may feel like you aren't appreciated. I know, mama, sometimes you may feel like you are not noticed, like you'll never be seen when you are in Nazareth. But I am here this morning to tell you, you are not insignificant. I know you think that what you are doing is ordinary, but I'm here to remind you that our God is in the business of taking ordinary and using it extraordinary.
Oh, come on. He'll take a young boy on the backside of a mountain and turn him into a king. He'll take a farmer that is harvesting wheat and turn him into a general in God's army. He'll take a young girl that nobody knows on the backside of the country and use her to nurture the son of the living God. Our God is in the business of taking the overlooked and using them for His glory.
I am here to encourage my mothers in the room that just because you aren't recognized publicly does not mean that you are not known privately. Mary may have been living in obscurity, but God knew exactly who she was and where she was at. Mary was known by God, and so are you.
Listen to what the Bible says. It says that Gabriel shows up to Mary and his greeting is this, Greetings, favored woman. The Lord is with you. I absolutely love that Gabriel calls her favored.
Oh, come on. How many of you want the favor of the living God upon your life? I love that God calls her favored.
What a beautiful title to be called. I would note that any time you see in Scripture where God is calling someone and he uses the term favored. Oh, get ready, because he is getting ready to show you why you are favored. Oh, I know.
I know. Y'all super holy. You think that favor is so that you can find a great parking spot at Wal-Mart. But how many of you know that is not what favor is for? And 10 times out of 10, when he shows you why you are favored, it will also point to why you are fearful. Because God does not call you favored because he just likes you.
He calls you favored because he's getting ready to deploy you. I need some mamas in the room that truly understand that motherhood is not a moment. It is a mission to make some noise this morning.
Oh, come on, it's not a moment. You have been called by God, dispatched from heaven for the mission that is ahead of you. I love that the Bible calls her favored.
That's actually the word charito, not to be confused with a Latino drink, come on. But it actually means to be grace bestowed. So why, Mary, would you need to be bestowed with grace? Because Mary, the mission ahead of you is great. If we were being honest in the room, we talked about the mission of motherhood and we cheer and we clap and we get excited. But if we were to peel back the religious wrapping paper that sometimes we wear to church, the reality is that the mission is never easy.
Oh, can I be honest, mamas in the room? The mission isn't always easy. Come on, as a matter of fact, it can be scary.
Come on, I got any mamas in the room that found out they were pregnant and they flipped out anybody in the room. Come on, the mission can be scary. As a matter of fact, the mission can be frustrating. Oh, it can be frustrating.
Come on now. I know you trying to do your best and you look good in your mother's day attire, but come on, the mission can be frustrating. It's frustrating whenever you get home and that toddler is pulling on you wanting more snacks and you're just trying to make it all happen.
It is frustrating whenever that teenager talks back to you. Come on, can we be real in the moment? It's frustrating when they're not grateful for the sacrifice you prepared. And I know you're holy, but sometimes you just want to step back and say, baby, I still got it. Don't try me. Come on, I'm holy, but I still got a little bit of hood in me, so don't play with me.
Pray with me, baby. Oh, come on. The mission is sometimes frustrating. The mission can bring you to your knees and have you thinking, how in the world am I going to do this? Or do I have any real mamas in the house that have ever been in a position?
Oh, come on. You didn't know how you were going to feed your baby, but God showed up. You didn't know how you were going to raise your baby, but God showed up. You didn't know how you were going to put your baby through school, but God showed up. And I know, I know it looks good now, but baby, if you look back, everybody's enjoying the credits. They didn't walk with you through the movie when you were on your knees saying, God, I don't know how I'm going to make this happen.
How am I going to make this happen? Mary, the answer is this. You have been bestowed with grace. As a matter of fact, Mary, you are in great company because I called Abram blessed. I called Noah favored. I called Moses favored. I called Joseph favored. I called Joshua favored. I called Gideon favored. And though their missions were great, the reality is it was me that saw them through. Because it was never them that was going to accomplish the mission anyway, Mary.
Don't you remember? I am the main character. You are the support and role. You ain't in the driver's seat, Mary.
I am. And Mary, I have bestowed you with grace. You are not alone, Mary. My grace will go with you. And can I remind you this morning, come on, that grace does not need someone who has it all together. Oh, come on.
All my mamas that drive black SUVs, come on. Grace does not need someone who doesn't make mistakes. As a matter of fact, every person that God calls has their own mistakes, their own hiccups.
Every mother that he chooses has their own issues. But there is grace for the mission. Mary was known by God. And I'm telling you, Mary was not alone. And mama, neither are you because his grace goes with you.
Listen to what the Bible says. It says that Mary would read her her mission. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. Mary steps away from the spiritual aspect and gets to the practical aspect. And she looks at Gabriel and says, I don't really know how to do this. I ain't never really done the tango before.
You know what I'm saying? And I love the response of Gabriel. Gabriel looks at Mary and says this. The Holy Spirit will come upon you.
Oh, my goodness. The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The reason I love this is because you are all theologians in the room. You remember that the Holy Spirit was released whenever Jesus released him to the disciples. So up until this point, the only time we see the power of the Holy Spirit moving is in individual people that are getting ready to do something great for God. He came upon Samson, and Samson did something great.
He came upon Gideon, and Gideon did something great. Now he has come upon Mary, not so that she could go out and fight battles, but rather so that she could raise a family. And I'm here to tell you this morning, you need the power of the Holy Spirit when you're raising that family. You need the power of the Holy Spirit whenever you come home from work and you're trying to pull out your hair and your babies are crying and you're trying to get them fed. You need the power of the Holy Spirit when you're doing ordinary things like doing laundry and doing the dishes. You need the power of the Holy Spirit to stop you from correcting when it's a time for grace. You need the power of the Holy Spirit because the power of the Holy Spirit is not just so that you could get public announcements and accolades of you doing something great. Sometimes the power of the Holy Spirit is so that you can shut your mouth in the moment. The power of the Holy Spirit will come upon you.
The Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative, Elizabeth.
I love this. Even she has conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless for nothing will be impossible with God. Did you catch that?
Did you catch that? Remember, Elizabeth struggled getting pregnant. Elizabeth was struggling getting pregnant.
As a matter of fact, she was past pregnancy years. The frustration was mounting and God shows up in the nick of time and gives her a baby. Now it is Elizabeth's testimony that is allowing Mary to be confident in her calling because God will never waste your testimony. Elizabeth has a testimony of how God's favor had moved in her life and Gabriel is pointing to that miracle in order to give confidence to Mary to walk in hers. I'm telling you, God will never waste your testimony.
There are some mamas in the room. It's time for you to share your testimony. The Bible says this. Mary looks at Gabriel and she says this, I am the Lord's servant. I am the Lord's servant.
I love this. In other words, what she is saying is that favor is not for status, but for service. Oh, come on, we get excited in the American church. We think favor is because we found a $20 bill on the floor. But Mary is making it clear it is not just so that I could hold social status.
Favor is so that I could take on the towel in servitude. The Bible says that Mary says this, may it be done to me according to your word. In other words, Gabriel, God has seen me in my obscurity.
He has bestowed me with his grace for the mission. And even though I do not know what the future holds, and I don't fully understand how this is going to take place, Gabriel, Gabriel, I trust God and I am willing. Mary wasn't just known by God. She wasn't just seen by God.
She wasn't alone. And Mary, she was willing to accept her calling to motherhood. I love this because if you're familiar with the story, you know Mary would have to continue on with her willingness because it's not just a moment, it's a mission.
The Bible says, then the angel left her. Well, come on, how many of you know it's easy to say I'm willing when the angel is standing in front of you? Oh, it's difficult to say I'm willing whenever I'm struggling through the process.
And yet Mary displays this wonderful, beautiful act of willingness. In other words, Gabriel, in the joy, I'm willing. In the sorrow, I'm willing. When it doesn't make any sense, I'm willing. When it's painful, I am willing.
When it costs me, I am willing. And the reality is motherhood comes with an array of emotions, joy, pain, gratitude, frustrations, and elations. But at the end of the day, even if it is painful, Gabriel, I know that raising this child is purposeful. And even in my own discomfort and pain, there is purpose.
And I am willing. Mary would go on to see all of those emotions take place throughout her lifetime, including the pain and the purpose. The pain and the purpose.
She would look to the Lord and say, God, it is painful when others don't understand what I am going through and they slander my name. Oh, but it is purposeful to know that you are using me. It is painful whenever no one wants to bring me in to deliver this baby. But it is purposeful whenever I see him and hold him for the first time. It is painful whenever I am told that a sword will pierce my soul because of my son's calling. But it is purposeful whenever I dedicate him in the temple.
It is painful whenever they think I'm a bad mother because I lost my son at a family get together. But it is purposeful whenever I find him having conversations in the church. It is painful whenever I have to let go of my son and he goes into the desert on his own. But it is purposeful when he is getting baptized in the river, walking in his calling.
It is painful when they are calling my son crazy. But it is purposeful when I see him performing the miracles. It is painful when they are nailing my precious son to the cross. Whose little toes I wiggled, whose meals I prepared, whose little body I cuddled, whose forehead I kissed.
Oh God, it is painful, but I am willing. And God, it is purposeful when I remember that it would be my son that would take away the sins of the world. Oh Mama, the calling isn't always easy.
Oh baby, but it is purposeful. At the cross, Mary is in a position where the pain is great, but so is the purpose. She is in a position where now not only does she have to hold the title of motherhood, but she also has to hold the title of believer. And now because of the cross, you and I would now have the chance to know the same grace that she was given.
And the greatest love in history would come through a woman that was found in obscurity, who was bestowed with grace. As she paved the way by being willing to walk out her call in motherhood. And I just wonder if there are any mamas in the house this morning that need to be reminded, you are paving the way. The calling of a mother is not always easy, but it is purposeful.
Keep going, Mama, you're paving the way. I was talking to my mother a little while ago. She went on to tell me a story I had never heard before in my life.
You see, my mama didn't really grow up in an environment that was the greatest environment. She was telling me about one of the darkest periods of her life, and it just happened to be when I was first born. She told me that one day she's in her room and she said that she was falling laundry.
I'm laying on the bed. My dad wasn't home. And she said she looked over at me and she picked me up. She said this desire on the inside of her was growing just to simply ask the Lord, Oh, God, don't let my son grow up the way I did.
She said that in that moment she dedicated me and handed me over to the Lord is the desperation of a woman who didn't want her child to grow up like she did. And then she went right back to folding clothes and thought nothing of it. Days would go by and years would go by. The challenges of a five year old and a seven year old and a 13 year old would continue because it's just life. But there would be my mom just continuing to do the best she could whenever she could do it. My teenage years would come and like many of you, man, I lost my way. I lost my identity. I went down some paths, brother, that you wouldn't believe.
And yet there's my mama just in the corner trying to do the best she can, losing it at times, but trying to do the best she can. And then all of a sudden, through life circumstances, God would begin to move the puzzle pieces together. And I would stumble my way into him through a series of events. I would find myself playing basketball on a scholarship at a private school that just happened to be Christian.
It was built in the same year that I was born. And I would be invited to come to church by the pastor's wife, by the name of Becky, gave my life to the Lord at that church. And that church would be the place where I would grow, hear my calling and be given my first opportunity in ministry.
Oh, it gets better because then I would be sent out all over the U.S. continuing my calling. Eventually I would land here at a church in North Carolina down the road. Meanwhile, God would call a family to Concord, North Carolina, to pastor a thriving church. And that pastor would eventually be elected to serve as the assembly of God's superintendent. His name was Rick. Rick would call Chad and say, I have a pastor I think you should hire.
Chad would call me and say, I have an opportunity for you. Rick would happen to be the pastor's wife's brother of the church that I got invited to. Connected to the school I got a scholarship to that was built in the same year that I was born to a mother that prayed a simple but desperate prayer.
All while she was folding clothes. I am here to tell my mama's in the house what you do matters. You're paving the way.
What you do matters. Mama, you are known by God. You're not alone because His grace goes with you. So thank you for being willing to walk out your calling. Happy Mother's Day. This morning, I feel the need to pray over the mama's that feel overlooked and insignificant. I also want to pray for the mama's that for whatever reason, wherever you're at, man, you want to give up on your mission, I hear you. Don't do it. Keep going.
You're paving the way. And lastly, I want to pray for the Elizabeths in the room. That maybe you've been crying out to the Lord to have a baby. I want to pray that the Lord would move. Maybe I'm just Pentecostal enough to believe that maybe God would answer our prayer in this moment. And you say, Vic, oh, my goodness, but what if it doesn't happen?
And I say, I don't know, but what if it does? So this morning, as we get ready to pray, would you stand to your feet? Oh, come on, if mama is by your side, your wife is by your side, I just want you to lay your hands on mama for a little bit because we're getting ready to pray. Father, I pray for the mothers in the room this morning. I pray for those that feel overlooked and insignificant. God, God, I thank you that there is purpose in their pain. God, I thank you that what they do matters. I pray for those, God, that feel like they're just wanting to give in and throw in the towel on their mission. Oh, God, I pray that you would encourage them. I pray that you would build them up. I pray that you would surround them with other mothers that have the opportunity to say, baby, don't stop.
It matters. You're paving the way. And God, lastly, I pray for those in the room that may have an Elizabeth testimony. Oh, God, would you move? Would you move? We pray bold prayers this morning.
Would you move that we would see the hand of the living God settle in a womb? God, I thank you for the mamas in the house. Thank you for their grace. Thank you for their mission. We bless your name in Jesus name. Come on. And everybody said, man and a man. Listen, church, the Lord bless you, keep you, cause his face to shine upon you, give you grace and peace now and forever. Happy Mother's Day. Let's go win this world for Christ.
