Psalm 89:19 Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said:” I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people.It was given as a Christmas gift to President Lincoln. For three grueling months, he had anxiously awaited such a resounding victory. General Sherman had scorched the earth from Atlanta all the way towards the Atlantic coast, and on this day, Dec 21, 1864, the proud Southern city of Savannah surrendered unconditionally.
Sherman had given them no other choice. In his letter to the Savannah leaders, he had written that should he ‘be forced to resort to assault, or the slower and surer process of starvation, I shall then feel justified in resorting to the harshest measures, and shall make little effort to restrain my army—burning to avenge the national wrong which they attach to Savannah and other large cities which have been so prominent in dragging our country into civil war.’
Sherman got what he wanted and Lincoln received his Christmas present. The South was broken due to Sherman’s unremitting total war strategy of scorched earth, ordering his troops to burn crops, kill livestock, consume supplies, and destroy civilian infrastructure along their path. He was a brutal warrior and unforgiving general. He was totally focused on what had to be done to win the war, no matter how terrible, terrifying, and tragic it would be to any Southern inhabitants who got in his army’s path. He had been given his orders and he saw it as a crusading mission against the Confederacy. He was the President’s chosen warrior and nothing would stop Sherman from completing his campaign.
Two thousand years earlier, the Jews were also looking for a strong and mighty warrior who would rid them of the despised Roman invaders, expel and extinguish the Herodian usurpers, and restore the power, dignity, and honor of Jerusalem as being the center of the world, and of Judaism being elevated to the heights of the truest religion on earth.
They longed for a military Messiah, who would scorch the earth and purify the Holy Land, making it clean and perfect, without the contamination that the dirty Gentile, Greek, and Roman dogs had brought to the land of God’s Chosen people. Whenever the Jews were severely oppressed, they held on to their hopes dearly. People and priests had sacrificed their lives to keep the Temple clean and to honor God above all else.
So the people were looking for a mighty miracle to be bestowed upon them. They felt that God was moving among them; they were promised such a leader for generations. They expected and felt entitled to having such a bold warrior to be raised up among them. It was a promise that God had to keep. It was something that He had to do. It was something that the times needed and the people demanded. God would fulfill their hopes in their ways, and not His own.
If ever the people needed a Messiah, it was then. If ever they needed God to keep His promises, it was now. They wanted God to bestow a warrior with His almighty strength and they expected God to exalt such a military, powerful, and majestic general from amongst them. In other words, they were looking for a Sherman to be their Savior. They were hoping for a commander of armies to be their Christ.
Luke 1: 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
But God had other plans. Instead of raising up a mighty warrior king, God sent the angel Gabriel to a teenage girl. The whole Jewish world was expecting a cataclysmic event to usher in the new Messiah; instead God privately speaks to a young maiden. The Jews wanted a strong, masculine hero; God communicates to a simple, native girl. The zealots hoped that God would turn the Romans’ world upside down; instead God turns the prophecies upside down and inside out. His ways, His thoughts, and His plans.
Mary, who may have been fifteen years old at the time, is confused and petrified at what the angel tells her. She must have been thinking something like: why me? Why am I being chosen? I’m nobody, nothing, not any one important. Why doesn’t God go to the wife of the High priest in Jerusalem; or to some important family with a better ancestry than me? I’m going to be wed to a carpenter, not a commander. Why have I been chosen? What makes me so good?
But that’s the way God works. Nobody’s perfect, nobody’s good enough, and nobody is worthy. God chooses people because He favors them. Mary didn’t have to be interviewed, evaluated, or recommended. God’s favor was upon her. God chose Mary; she didn’t choose to be the mother of the Messiah for herself. It all started with God through His promises hundreds of years before this sacred encounter of Gabriel and Mary. And no matter what the prophets, priests, and people believed how His promises would turn out, God did it in His own time, in His own way, and for His own sake.
You know, we’re kind of like the Jews of that time. We believe that God will do things our way, when we want it, and however it suits us. Take for instance the Pilgrims fathers or the Mayflower people, whatever you want to call them. On this day, in 1620, they landed at Plymouth Rock. They were a bunch of impractical Christians, who believed that God was telling them to go to the New World to escape religious persecution in England and plant a new colony where they could freely practice their faith.
Could you imagine what happened in Heaven when their prayers were being said? Let’s say an angel takes their prayers to St. Peter.
Angel: Sorry to bother you, St. Peter, but we’re just receiving prayers from a religious group who are looking for God to bless them on a special journey.
Peter: Why do they want to do this?
Angel: They feel that they’re being persecuted and need to find a new place where they can start their own community.
Peter: Oh, so they’re Separationists. They don’t want to remain in the Established Church that we’ve been working on for over 1600 years. Okay, where do these troublemakers want to go?
Angel: To the New World, sir. They think that it will give them a new start.
Peter: A New World? Has God created a New World? Why wasn’t I told about this?
Angel: No, sir. It’s what they call America – all the Europeans think it’s a New World.
Peter: But that’s across the Atlantic Ocean. How are they going to get there?
Angel: On two boats. One is called the Speedwell and the other is the Mayflower.
Peter: Well, if it’s journeying mercies that they need, you should take this over to St. Christopher. He handles all the travel arrangements.
Angel: We tried that, sir, but he says that this is bigger than he can handle.
Peter: Oh I understand, you need me to get involved because they’re traveling on the sea. Being a fisherman, I know what it’s like to sail through choppy waters. Did I ever tell you about the night the Lord invited me to walk on the water during a storm?
Angel: Yes sir, many times. But I’m afraid that this group is going to need more than you or St. Christopher to help them out.
Peter: Why?
Angel: Well you see, sir. They want to set up a community, build their own cabins, grow their own food, make their own laws, and remain healthy, become wealthy, and stay strong.
Peter: That sounds reasonable. When do they want to do this?
Angel: About December 21st.
Peter: IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER! OY VEY! You’d better take this one all the way to the top!
They longed for a military Messiah, who would scorch the earth and purify the Holy Land, making it clean and perfect, without the contamination that the dirty Gentile, Greek, and Roman dogs had brought to the land of God’s Chosen people. Whenever the Jews were severely oppressed, they held on to their hopes dearly. People and priests had sacrificed their lives to keep the Temple clean and to honor God above all else.
So the people were looking for a mighty miracle to be bestowed upon them. They felt that God was moving among them; they were promised such a leader for generations. They expected and felt entitled to having such a bold warrior to be raised up among them. It was a promise that God had to keep. It was something that He had to do. It was something that the times needed and the people demanded. God would fulfill their hopes in their ways, and not His own.
If ever the people needed a Messiah, it was then. If ever they needed God to keep His promises, it was now. They wanted God to bestow a warrior with His almighty strength and they expected God to exalt such a military, powerful, and majestic general from amongst them. In other words, they were looking for a Sherman to be their Savior. They were hoping for a commander of armies to be their Christ.
Luke 1: 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.
But God had other plans. Instead of raising up a mighty warrior king, God sent the angel Gabriel to a teenage girl. The whole Jewish world was expecting a cataclysmic event to usher in the new Messiah; instead God privately speaks to a young maiden. The Jews wanted a strong, masculine hero; God communicates to a simple, native girl. The zealots hoped that God would turn the Romans’ world upside down; instead God turns the prophecies upside down and inside out. His ways, His thoughts, and His plans.
Mary, who may have been fifteen years old at the time, is confused and petrified at what the angel tells her. She must have been thinking something like: why me? Why am I being chosen? I’m nobody, nothing, not any one important. Why doesn’t God go to the wife of the High priest in Jerusalem; or to some important family with a better ancestry than me? I’m going to be wed to a carpenter, not a commander. Why have I been chosen? What makes me so good?
But that’s the way God works. Nobody’s perfect, nobody’s good enough, and nobody is worthy. God chooses people because He favors them. Mary didn’t have to be interviewed, evaluated, or recommended. God’s favor was upon her. God chose Mary; she didn’t choose to be the mother of the Messiah for herself. It all started with God through His promises hundreds of years before this sacred encounter of Gabriel and Mary. And no matter what the prophets, priests, and people believed how His promises would turn out, God did it in His own time, in His own way, and for His own sake.
You know, we’re kind of like the Jews of that time. We believe that God will do things our way, when we want it, and however it suits us. Take for instance the Pilgrims fathers or the Mayflower people, whatever you want to call them. On this day, in 1620, they landed at Plymouth Rock. They were a bunch of impractical Christians, who believed that God was telling them to go to the New World to escape religious persecution in England and plant a new colony where they could freely practice their faith.
Could you imagine what happened in Heaven when their prayers were being said? Let’s say an angel takes their prayers to St. Peter.
Angel: Sorry to bother you, St. Peter, but we’re just receiving prayers from a religious group who are looking for God to bless them on a special journey.
Peter: Why do they want to do this?
Angel: They feel that they’re being persecuted and need to find a new place where they can start their own community.
Peter: Oh, so they’re Separationists. They don’t want to remain in the Established Church that we’ve been working on for over 1600 years. Okay, where do these troublemakers want to go?
Angel: To the New World, sir. They think that it will give them a new start.
Peter: A New World? Has God created a New World? Why wasn’t I told about this?
Angel: No, sir. It’s what they call America – all the Europeans think it’s a New World.
Peter: But that’s across the Atlantic Ocean. How are they going to get there?
Angel: On two boats. One is called the Speedwell and the other is the Mayflower.
Peter: Well, if it’s journeying mercies that they need, you should take this over to St. Christopher. He handles all the travel arrangements.
Angel: We tried that, sir, but he says that this is bigger than he can handle.
Peter: Oh I understand, you need me to get involved because they’re traveling on the sea. Being a fisherman, I know what it’s like to sail through choppy waters. Did I ever tell you about the night the Lord invited me to walk on the water during a storm?
Angel: Yes sir, many times. But I’m afraid that this group is going to need more than you or St. Christopher to help them out.
Peter: Why?
Angel: Well you see, sir. They want to set up a community, build their own cabins, grow their own food, make their own laws, and remain healthy, become wealthy, and stay strong.
Peter: That sounds reasonable. When do they want to do this?
Angel: About December 21st.
Peter: IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER! OY VEY! You’d better take this one all the way to the top!
(c) 2008 John Stuart
Luke 1:37 For nothing is impossible with God."
The beauty of this passage is that God brought all of His power all the way from the top, all the way from the highest throne in heaven, to this little Palestinian lassie in the Holy Land. God was fulfilling all of His promises in a way that is mysterious, miraculous, and mighty. It defies all of our logic, all of our wisdom, and even all of our current sciences.
The Virgin Birth, the Holy Conception, the creating of Christ in Mary’s womb, Mama’s Little Miracle, is one of the most incredible things that God has ever done. Physicists, biologists, geneticists, and atheists tell us that this could not have happened. According to Barna, an organization which tabulates church beliefs, 80% of the adult church going population believes in the Virgin birth. And I think I know why.
It’s because of verse 37: For nothing is impossible with God. That verse trumps every argument under the sun. Scientists may say it’s physically impossible, but nothing is impossible with God. Atheists might say it’s humanly impossible, but nothing is impossible with God. We can write a hundred million books saying why we think the Virgin Birth is impossible, but each of them can be answered with this simple faith statement: nothing is impossible with God.
And that’s how God always works – in His own way, in His own style, and in His own time.
Think about it: The Jews look for a Messiah to save their people, and God ends up bring a Messiah into the world who’s going to save the whole planet – nothing is impossible with God.
A group of persecuted pilgrims seek to set up their own private community in the New World, and God grows a mighty nation that espouses their faith values – nothing is impossible with God.
In 1877, a group of Scotch-Irish immigrants set up a wee church for themselves, which becomes the longest established church in this part of Knoxville – nothing is impossible with God.
And, in the same year that the wee church is celebrating its centenary in 1977, across the Atlantic, God picks up a young drunken Scotsman out of the gutter to become its pastor twenty years later – nothing is impossible for God.
And in 2009, that same wee church may begin a new journey of faith, which will make a significant impact in its community, throughout its Presbytery, and in the denomination itself, because nothing is impossible with God.
Erin, we are the Lord’s servants, May it be to us as God pre-intends.
Prayer:
Lord God, nothing is impossible for You and we are so glad to be called as servants of Your Son. We thank You for the continuing mission that You have given us for over 130 years. As we prepare to meet Jesus this Christmas, may we also be ready to do His bidding and fulfill Your will throughout 2009. In Your Holy Name, we joyfully pray. Amen.
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