Conception in a Closed Womb: Pt. 4 Highly Favored

June 1, 2011

Sermon Title: Conception in a Closed Womb: Pt. 4 Highly Favored
Sermon Text: Luke 1:26-33

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”


Context: How can you have favor in a closed situation? We must understand that we are uniquely equipped to handle particular situations. Once we realize this we can begin to operate in the favor and fullness of God.

Point 1: Mary was set apart (verses 41-44)
Mary does not realize that she is favored until certain things start happening. Mary was a temple girl; her parents set her apart. We should realize that sometimes when things happen it is because God is setting us apart to be used for His purpose.
1. Don’t follow the crowd: Do not believe that the crowd always knows best. Sometimes you will end up somewhere you do not want to be.
2. Dare to be different: When you stand up and go against the crowd to do what you believe is right, you show God your faith.
3. Deliver yourself to God: Give yourself to God just the way you are. We cannot fix ourselves and we should stop trying.

Point 2: Mary received a word from God (verse 28)
There will be times when God addresses our concerns with a word that brings more concern.
1. Hold on to God in the storm:. Many times we want God to speak but when He does we don’t get the word we want. When this happens, hold on to what God is saying. Hold on to Him. This word will reinforce that we are favored.
2. Have faith He will bring you out. No matter how hard the word is that God brings know that it comes to bless you and must mature inside of you. Believe in the word of God.
3. Give Him your life if you aren’t saved.

Point 3: Mary was a virgin (verse 27)
God needs to get us in a place or situation that we have never been in before. This will cause us to truly rely on Him. This is a favored place. God wants to favor us, open up doors for us, and mold us while we are in that virgin place. When you squeeze the petals of a rose the fragrance and essence of that rose becomes more apparent. The same goes for us. The more He squeezes us, the more we become who we are supposed to be.