READ | SERMON NOTES
Summary l Let us posture ourselves correctly as we wait for the Lord to do His work in our hearts and in our Church! Wesley Hall is appropriately launched in the season of Advent and we want to be prayerful and watchful; actively waiting!
We can fail to be ready for the Lord by being unprepared as in the Parable of the bridesmaids in Matt 25. We can also miss advent by not waiting for the Lord at all because we are contented with our present relationship with God and do not want or expect anything more. This makes our faith irrelevant and impotent. What does it mean to wait actively for the Lord?
We will look at the story of the Annunciation to learn from Mary, mother of Christ.
ATTENTIVE to God’s PRESENCE
Mary was just a teenager when visited by the angel Gabriel. Scholars have noted that the call to Mary followed a pattern set in the Old Testament. Every time God called someone like Abraham or Moses. a Hebrew phrase was used…HINENI…meaning ‘Here am I’. These heroes of faith were attentive, present and available to the Lord! Are we like this or more like Adam who wanted to hide and run away when God called? We are often too complacent, distracted, afraid or ashamed to be present and listening to the Lord. We need to cease our striving and our desire to control circumstances.
AVAILABLE to God’s PURPOSES
To be pregnant before marriage. was a sin punishable by death. However, Mary simply said: ‘Here am I, the servant (slave) of The Lord’. She was the first true disciple accepting Jesus as the Son of God and submitting to His will and plan for her life. She suffered for Christ even before His crucifixion. We find it hard to surrender like this as we often have our own aspirations and plans and would like God to help us achieve them. But because we hold so tightly to our plans and agenda, there is no room for God’s will in our lives. God wants to do bigger things in our lives as we allow His Kingdom to come!
ABIDE in God’s POWER
Mary was told that she had found favour with the Lord. However, this favour brought trouble for her. Being the mother of Christ was no easy task and Simeon’s prophecy that ‘a sword would pierce her soul’ (Luke 1:55) came true. Mary never complained or turned against God. Her posture was always one of humble surrender. She was filled with the Holy Spirit at the time of the annunciation which helped her to stay the course. In the final moments of Christ’s life, He submitted to the will of God with words similar to His mother’s words.
Let us be jars of clay filled with the mighty treasure of the Holy Spirit, able to stay faithful to the Lord despite all the challenges in this world.
In Isaiah 52:6 it is God who says “Here am I!” This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus came to live among us. All those who humbly seek God will discover His presence amidst the trials of life, drawing them to know Him intimately. God can birth amazing things through our weak broken lives.
2 Cor 12:8-10 “My strength is made perfect in weakness”.
(Sermon notes by Frances Lim)
PONDER | REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- Take time to be still and reflect on the state of your heart. How ready and eager is your heart ready to make space to meet Christ this season of Advent?
- Read Luke 1:26-38. Put yourself in Mary’s shoes. What do you think was going through Mary’s mind? What strikes you about her response? How would you respond if you were in her place?
- Is there anything that might be causing you to be (a) inattentive to God’s presence; or (b) unwilling to be available to God? Ask the Lord for guidance on how you might grow in spiritual attentiveness and availability to Him.
- What do you need to let go or surrender, so that the Lord may have His way with you?
- Instead of striving in your own strength, and being exhausted by life’s worries, how can you live faithfully, while abiding in God’s power? Share and pray for one another.
