• Mary wasn’t concerned with how she would be perceived as being pregnant before marriage.
• How was she able to do this?
• Because she saw herself as a bondslave of the Lord.
• A bondslave had no rights - they were completely owned by someone else.
• She didn’t focus on perception - she focused on truth.
• The truth was that she was God’s servant.
• Elizabeth & Simeon saw themselves in the same way.
• Luke 2:7 - she was able to give birth in a barn because she knew who she was.
• I’m sure Joseph looked all over but when he told her the innkeeper only had a barn she took a deep breath and reminded herself of who she was.
• God is in the business of orchestrating circumstances to remind us of who we are.
• The test of a true servant - how do you respond when you’re treated like one.
• How you see yourself determines how you conduct yourself.
Luke 1:38 (3/24/16)
Servant
March 24, 2016 • Benham Brothers
Luke 1:18 (3/23/17)
March 23, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* Faith is a matter of focus. * If we keep our focus on God we gravitate toward faith. * If we keep our focus on man we gravitate toward fear & doubt. * Zechariah fell for the same thing Moses fell for - when God’s word came he focused on himself and not the God Who was giving the message. * His punishment? * He lost the ability to do what he was created to do. * He was a priest and had to communicate as a part of his job - but now that was gone. * Other people could no longer be nourished by Zech, the priest. * God wants to be a nourishment for others through us, but it requires our faith in God for that to happen. * We have to keep our eyes on Him and not on ourselves.
Luke 1:24-25 (3/22/18)
March 22, 2018 • Benham Brothers
Luke 1:24-25 - Motive * How do you know if you’ve done something with the right motive? * By how you respond when the thing either comes to pass or doesn’t. * If it doesn’t, do you say, “not my will but Yours be done?” * This means you had the right motive. * If it does come to pass, do you have a meek and humble response (like Peter & Elizabeth)? * Notice Elizabeth got alone and simply wanted to thank God for blessing her. * She didn’t go out and announce to everyone. * A pure motive is always humble before the Lord and grateful for His role in your life.