Mensa Otabil - A Special Messenger
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Welcome to a brand new week, and a Merry Christmas to all of you. We are in Christmas week, and this week we’ll be talking about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the events leading to His birth, which will culminate on the 25th of December as we remember the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, we go to Luke chapter 1, from verses 26 and 27. Now, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. Earlier on, the angel Gabriel had announced to the father of John the Baptist that his wife was going to conceive. Now, the angel is on another assignment, and there are a few things I want you to note about this passage. The first is the timing of this event. The Bible calls it " in the sixth month,» which means the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy.
So, Elizabeth has had her miracle for six months, and now the angel goes to talk to Mary. There is a kind of synchronization going on, because Elizabeth’s son, John, is going to work towards the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ and announce the ministry of the Lord Jesus. God is synchronizing timing, and that’s something for us to understand: that God is able to work times and seasons in our favor, and He’s able to bring all things to culmination. So, He announces a message to Elizabeth; Elizabeth is six months pregnant, and now the angel Gabriel is speaking to Mary. There is divine timing in this whole process.
The second thing I want you to note is that the angel Gabriel was sent by God. The Bible makes it clear that the angel didn’t go by himself to announce a message, nor is this angel from another source. This means that there may be other messengers that do not come from God, and so when a message comes, we have to determine where it’s coming from: Is it from God or not from God? The angel knew whom he had to speak to and where to find the person. God knows where we are, and He doesn’t give our message to somebody else. When He wants to locate you, no matter how remote the area you are in, He’s able to find you. This angel was able to find Mary among all the nations in the world and in all the towns in Israel, right there in Nazareth, a city of which it was later said, «Can anything good come out of Nazareth?» Yet, God located Mary in her hometown. God is able to locate you too.
The third thing is the description of the person that the angel goes to speak to. The Bible calls the person a virgin betrothed to a man. It’s a very simple, unusual statement: It’s just a young girl who’s been promised to a man in the village-the village carpenter. They are not an extraordinary couple; they don’t come from nobility. Although deep in their ancestry they are related to David, in their present reality, they are not royalty. They are just ordinary people-just a simple girl promised to be married to a simple man. Yet, God chose her and used her. God is able to use simple people, find simple people in simple places, and speak His purposes into their lives. I believe the same God is at work in our lives. We may not carry the Messiah, but we all carry a purpose and an assignment in our lives, and God knows how to find us with the right message at the right time.
Let’s pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, I know I am on Your timetable. I receive Your divine visitation and assignment in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.» Like Mary, you are also on God’s timetable. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. Pastor Mensa Otabil, Shalom, peace, and life to you.