Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What God DOESN'T Care About | Learning to Follow Jesus | Luke 1:26-45

Starting point is 00:00:05 Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're learning how to follow Jesus by working our way through the Gospel of Luke. So in the last episode, I sold out my dad as a person who bought horrible gifts for my mom at Christmas. He may have had a great heart. He may have had good intentions, but he was absolutely clueless in knowing her and what she won. and what she'd be excited about.

Starting point is 00:00:37 The reality is, though, is that I can't sell him out without selling myself out because I've done some pretty dumb things in this area of life also. I remember when Christine and I were first dating, now we've been married for 29 years at this point. But back when we were first dating and we experienced our first Christmas together, I had to come up with a gift to buyer, and I wasn't sure what to get her. You have to understand that at that point in my life, I was super religious. Christine and I had become Christians in college through a ministry that was known back then as Campus Crusade for Christ, but now is called crew.

Starting point is 00:01:16 And so I was in this really religious season of my life. And so that's reflected in the gift I bought her. One of the gifts I got her was a Greek word study. Think of it as a commentary of Greek words so that she could study her New Testament better. Now, what 20-year-old college woman wants a Greek word study from her new boyfriend? Probably no one. But to top it off, not only did I get her this Greek word study commentary, but I also got her a calculator that stored phone numbers in it. So not only was I a religious weirdo, but we are also very old, Because can you imagine how long ago it was that somebody would have been excited about getting a calculator that stored phone numbers?

Starting point is 00:02:05 Well, when my dad would get my mom these weird Christmas gifts, it always kind of brought about an awkward moment on Christmas. Because my mom's response was never what my dad hoped for. And to be honest, Christine was very, very gracious in her response to my weird gifts. She's been gracious for the last 29 years to put up with some of the same. my foolishness. But what we're really talking about is not how we respond to gifts we get each other, but how we respond to the gift that God gave us in Jesus. How do we respond to what Paul calls the indescribable gift? And we're looking at the first chapter of Luke. Luke is telling us about the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus, and he's intertwined the stories in such a way that you,

Starting point is 00:02:57 You can't help but realize that he's trying to get us to compare Jesus and John the Baptist, but also trying to get us to compare the response that Zechariah, John the Baptist's dad, has when he hears that he's going to have a child in old age, and the response that Mary has when she's told by the angel that she's going to have a child, even though she's a virgin. In the last episode, we talked about Zechariah's response. He and his wife were old, they were beyond their childbearing years, but Zechariah was a priest. He was a person who knew the stories of God, and he was in the temple when the angel appeared to him and told him that he was going to have a child.

Starting point is 00:03:42 He and his wife Elizabeth had been praying for a child. But instead of responding in faith to God's promise through the angel, Zechariah didn't believe him. He asked for more evidence. Now, Luke wants us to contrast that with Mary's response, because Mary has none of the advantages Zechariah does. She's a teenage girl living in the middle of a nowhere town. She doesn't have any family standing. She doesn't have like a great pedigree like Zechariah did.

Starting point is 00:04:17 But when she hears, she says, may it be done to me according to your word. Yes, she's confused. She says, how can this be? But after the angel explains that this child is not by a man, but by the Holy Spirit, Mary surrenders. May it be done to me according to your word. I am your servant. So what Luke is driving at here is he's trying to get Theophilus, this Roman official he addresses in the first few verses of Luke 1,

Starting point is 00:04:50 that this gospel is written to. He's trying to get this Roman official to understand who Jesus is. You can imagine that it would be hard to get Theophilus to believe that this man, Jesus, who had been crucified as a common criminal, was really an eternal king, was really the savior of the world, that he should follow him with his whole life. And so Luke starts back at the beginning, and he says, let me tell you how Jesus came about. He says, God was at work. the God who is sovereign over the entire world.

Starting point is 00:05:25 He was at work in the birth of John the Baptist to a couple well beyond child-bearing years, and he was at work in the birth of Jesus, giving Jesus to a woman who had never had a sexual relationship with a man. Not only did Luke want Theophilus, and not only does Luke want us to see that God was involved in this from the very beginning, but he also wants us to compare Jesus and John the Baptist. As great as John the Baptist was, Jesus was far greater. John the Baptist was the forerunner, but Jesus is the king that John the Baptist was announcing. And then I think that Luke wants us to compare the response of Zechariah with the response of Mary. In verse 45, Elizabeth, that's John the Baptist mom and Zechariah.

Starting point is 00:06:20 his wife, she says to Mary, blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. She says to Mary, blessed are you because you believed the angel, you believed God's promise. And the implication is that Zechariah and by extension herself, that they didn't believe God's promise to the angel. I think what Luke is trying to help us see is that God doesn't care about your background. He doesn't care about your religiousness. What he cares about is how you respond to his word. Mary heard the word and she believed.

Starting point is 00:07:01 And she was blessed because she surrendered to God's plan for her life. Yes, it was confusing to her. I'm sure it's not exactly how she planned out her life. It was embarrassing to say that she was pregnant. She knew no one would believe her. And yet she said, may it be done to me according to your word. I am your servant. She surrendered to God's plan for her life because she believed that God was good.

Starting point is 00:07:32 She believed that God loved her. She believed that God was in control of her life. And she believed that God's will was better for her life than her own will. How do you respond to God's word? Is it like Zechariah? Maybe you should trust God but you don't. Maybe you are resistant. Or do you surrender like Mary did?

Starting point is 00:07:59 Do you open your heart and say, I trust your wisdom here, God. I want your will more than my will. I don't know how all this turns out, but I'll trust you in the process. I'll walk with you through this. God has made promises to you. Promises that he will work for your good. Promises that he will provide for you. Promises that he will forgive your sins. Promises that he will always be with you. Promises that he will bring meaning and purpose in your life. But do you believe those promises? Do you surrender to him? That's what he calls you and me to do every day, to surrender to his will. Oh, God, have mercy upon us.

Starting point is 00:08:53 Give us faith like Mary. May we surrender to your will. May your will be done in our life today. We are your servants. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating.

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Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What God DOESN'T Care About | Learning to Follow Jesus | Luke 1:26-45

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