Sermon in Rockford 16.03.2014

In Jesus' name, we pass before the Word of God which I read concerning Mary from Luke 1 verses 39-45.

And Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is it to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed. For there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. Amen.

Amen. We have been celebrating Mary's day for a three-day bigger service occasion. And there is a reason why this Mary is such a central figure in the Bible that we, 2,000 years after her life, still remember her.

It seems that she was very young. It seems that she was way under 20. Maybe 16, 17. What do you, dear sisters here, who are 16 or 17, think about that? She was also poor. She was so poor that when she and Joseph went to the temple of Jerusalem to give the offering for the firstborn son, according to the law of Moses, and they knew that the son was a son of God, they still had to offer the offering of the poor. They still, knowing that he was the son of God, were not able to afford a big offering to God. I would think, in my simple mind, that that was a trial for them, that they would have wanted to give this bigger sacrifice, which was made for any normal firstborn son if the parents were able to afford it. But they couldn't. They just couldn't.

So, she was young and poor. So, what makes her so special is in this world full of young and poor women. When the angel appeared unto her, she got scared. She was not bold. She didn't expect that to happen. She didn't think that, yes, of course, the angel appears unto me. She got scared. So scared that the angel knew it, sensed it, sighed, I would guess, and said to her, "Do not fear." And then the angel said that, "You are highly favored before God."

What does that mean? Highly favored before God? I would think that, again, there are people in this world who think that they are highly favored before God and they don't know that that's not the truth. They are not highly favored because their thoughts are human thoughts and based on their doings.

This Mary's response kind of reminds me of the response of the disciples when Jesus said that one of you will betray me. They were scared. They became very sorrowful, doubtful, and they started asking, "Lord, is it I?" Because when they looked around, they couldn't think anybody else but themselves.

So Mary was not something strong, something remarkable. She was a young and pretty poor girl, I would say. But she believed. And that's what changed everything.

All weekend long, God has spoken unto us the importance of believing. Believing against our own reason. Even believing against our own reason. Believing against our instincts. Accepting children to be born no matter what this world says. No matter what our own mind says. Just accepting. In a foolish way. In a way that we can't explain.

And that's not the first time when a believer cannot explain. You remember when Philip met Nathaniel, his friend, he said, "We have found Christ, Messiah." And Nathaniel said, "Of Nazareth? Can something good come out of Nazareth?" And Philip couldn't explain. So he said, "Come and see. I can't explain to you, but come and see." Witness it with your own eyes. And he sure did. And believed.

And now, we have this believing young lady, young girl, to whom the angel appeared and gave a message which didn't make sense. Didn't make any sense. It was against all human knowledge at the time and how much more today.

It would be interesting to know how many of those people who call themselves Christians honestly believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. I would guess that the number may be smaller than we think. Who really, in their hearts, are convinced that that's the divine truth? And for sure the number is decreasing all the time. Because it doesn't make sense. It does not make sense. That kind of things don't happen. But it happened.

So, faith is the only bridge that brings us over the gap, over the void. There is no other way. I don't have a good translation for the saying that I listened to from the old Finnish people. They said, "If there's an empty, if there's a gap, you make it by faith." There's no other way.

As we have heard through dear brother today, there are many things which we don't understand. There sure are. It would not be difficult to tie me in my words and understandings of God's word if a scholar who knows the Bible in and out and does not believe what started testing me. I don't doubt. I would be tight with my weak, small understandings. But I don't care. I still believe.

I can't explain everything. Oh, how little understanding I have to big questions. Why this or that happens. Like in childbirth. There are many questions which we don't understand. We just can't explain why things happen. Why God allows, say, sickness into the family. How could we explain it?

Our thoughts truly are compared to God's thoughts as low as this earth is from the heavens. We are so small. But it does not mean that we can't believe. Yes, we can. It doesn't prevent us from believing. And in fact, that's the only way. If you don't understand, the only way is to believe. God's love is to believe.

And now, this Mary, dear sister of ours, became a mother of Jesus. The angel came and left the unbelievable message, something that she never ever had thought in her life that that would happen and left, departed. And she was left with that troubling news.

And we remember how it troubled Joseph. I have thought, dear brother, and I thought that God sure knew also whom he chose to be the stepfather of Jesus. God sure knew and selected right.

There are two things that I have always marveled about Joseph. One, his reaction when he learned that Mary was pregnant. According to the law of Moses, he could have had her killed by stoning. And I have learned that love and hatred are very close to one another.

I heard a story through one dear speaker brother in Finland that during the war, Finland war time, a believing man was given a few days vacation to come visit home. And he lived in Hailuoto. It's an island near Oulu. And it was winter time. And he came by train to Oulu. And there was no way for him to travel during the evening and night hours home, so he walked. I would say it's about maybe closer to 30 miles that he had to walk on the trails which the horses had left, the sleds of the horses, so he walked.

And I would think that his heart sang. He was walking towards home where his dear wife was living. And when he arrived to the house, he saw big steps, a man's shoes, next to the house on the fresh snow. And his heart sank. "There's a man." And he went in over the door and asked the wife, "Where is he?" And she said, "What do you mean? Where is the man that I saw the tracks outside?" And she said, "Oh, honey, I went out to get firewood and your shoes, they're so big and easy to put on, so I used your shoes."

And this man fell on his knees and started praying for forgiveness because of the hatred that he had felt in his heart when he thought that his wife was betraying him when he was in the war. So the hatred and love are so close to one another. And this man explained how in one moment he fell from the highest love to the deepest hatred and stepped back to the highest love again. That's how we are, how human we are.

Joseph did not hate Mary. He did not choose to put her into death, but he just cried on his own. And God revealed to him that that's not the case. She is carrying a baby of God, not of another man. That's one thing that I marvel about Joseph.

And the other, when they got married, he, knowing from the Bible, that she was to bear a child out of a virgin, did not take her until Jesus was born. He honored and revered God's word so highly, that he didn't say, "I have a right." He chose to let her be and expect the baby until the child was born.

Man, there are two things that to me speak volumes about what kind of a man he was.

Now, Mary was left with those confusing news. And our text says that Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into the city of Judah and entered into the house of Zechariah and saluted Elizabeth. She had a reason to go there. They were close relatives, cousins. And there was another lady who was expecting a baby that kind of shouldn't have happened. They were barren. They were a couple that didn't have a child and they were old. And God allowed that to happen.

Obviously, she knew what had happened. Elizabeth was on her sixth month. She had hid herself for five months. When Elizabeth conceived, she hid herself for five months. She didn't go anywhere. She stayed at home. And then she started going out and I guess everybody could see that she was pregnant. And everybody, well, at least many, marveled and were so pleased of this, what had happened, and amazed of course.

And Mary knew that Elizabeth was pregnant. And I would think that she knew that if there's a person who understands me, it's she. They needed one another. So, we talked about supporting one another, mother. And I think that the best support to a mother who is expecting a child comes from another mother. We guys are pretty clumsy in our support, even to our own wife. And it is good that the sisters support one another. It's very precious. It's very good.

And so, Mary went to Elizabeth. And I would like to hear how the learned scholars of this world, who don't believe that children can believe, how they explain this.

And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is it to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

Even Elizabeth knew that this is a proper word fetus, of six months, leaped for joy. And the scholars of this world are troubled because they don't know if children can believe or not. If somebody has to be twelve or something to understand to believe, well, if a fetus of six months jumps for joy when they hear the greetings of God's peace, of a believing mother to another believing mother, to me, it's pretty difficult to explain this that they don't know how to believe. It's like turning white into black.

And it says Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. This also is the interesting question. Did the believers have the Holy Ghost before Jesus poured it on to them? And we say, yes, they did. There is no question about that. There are so many examples of that in the Bible, this being one of many. Even in the Old Testament times, how clearly it speaks and reveals Joseph and Daniel and his friends, how they, among other believers, surely had the Holy Spirit. How the Spirit of God.

And how could it be? If, I think it's even illogical, that if I believe that God gives life, as I do, I believe that God creates new life. If God gives the life, new life, could it be possible that the baby who was born would not have God's Spirit? To me, it's very illogical, even.

And so, but, but I guess what this speaks to me is that she felt, she felt very deeply. I remember yesterday, when we went to the meal, and the church was full of people, and I tried to be obedient to my calling, and rise up a little earlier, and take our beloved guests to the meal table, although I feel shy when doing it, but I try to do it.

When we walked on the foyer area, and the song was echoing from the speakers, my heart was full, and the sound was full, the song says, and I said, and I turned, and I said that I feel like in heaven. I felt heavenly feelings, and I would say the Holy Spirit filled me. That's what we can sometimes feel, not very often, but sometimes. I would say that's what this was.

Elizabeth felt the good feelings, like a foretaste of heaven, something small about how good it's going to be in heaven. And that's what she felt. And she didn't whisper, she spoke with a loud voice, she didn't care if the neighbors heard, when she greeted her with God's peace. And God revealed unto her amazing things.

You know, as our text began, Mary rose in those days, not after many days, when the angel had appeared unto her, she left and traveled all the way, about 60, 70 miles near Jerusalem. That hill country of Judea is near Jerusalem, and she was living in Nazareth, in the northern part of the country. And she traveled there, and the message had already, I don't know if she had heard about it, if Elizabeth had heard about that, or did God reveal it unto her at that moment, I don't know, I don't understand, but for sure she knew at that moment, because she said, "And how God gives me such a great grace, that the mother of my Lord came unto me."

She, young sister Elizabeth was, I don't have the exact numbers, but I would guess, 60, 70 years old, something like that, and Mary, a young girl, and those two mothers met, and this old lady calls her, Mary, the mother of my Lord. So you see how special it was for everybody. And of course it was special.

How long have the believers been waiting for this to happen? For thousands of years. God gave his promise that it will happen. It will happen. He will give his son. God.

And it says in the Old Testament, I don't remember again where it is, but I do remember that it is there, that when the believers of the Old Testament said, "Oh, if you would break the heavens and come and appear unto us. If you would divide or break the heavens and appear." They waited and they waited and they yearned to see Jesus. But they couldn't. It took so long in our scale. It took long. Thousands of years. It's a long time.

But if God promises something, He gives it. God is so faithful. Like when He promises something, He gives it at the same time. Because God has no time. We have time. So, for us, it may feel as a long time. But if God promises something, He will keep it.

Dear brothers and sisters, we should never doubt God's promises. They are sure. If something is sure in this world, it is what God has promised. He will not waver. He will not take His word back. Because He is so holy. He is to be honored so highly. He does not promise something and take His word back.

And now, the last message of our text is what Elizabeth said to Mary. "And blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her by God or from the Lord."

So, that's what Elizabeth also believed. That you are blessed because you believed. And I hope that dear brothers and sisters, when we go back home to our daily life, that we would also believe, that we would hold it near and dear unto us, what we have heard here, what God has spoken unto us, when we have been sitting on the bench and tried to concentrate and listen.

Those words that we have heard have been the words of God, which God has in His love given us through our dear brothers. Let us keep them. They are true. And blessed is she that believed. And blessed are you if you believe. For there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. God will give it.

It will be interesting to share what you have heard from God. What God has spoken to you. Because God reveals different things unto us, gives different thoughts for us. We can't take the whole sermon. We have our little sliver out of the sermon with us. And sometimes God reveals more to the listener than he reveals to the speaker. Because it is not our word. We are messengers of God. And God can open his word more fully to the listener than to the speaker. Which is good. It is his word.

So, if you have heard something that has touched your heart during this weekend, believe it. And believe it firmly. Don't doubt. Don't waver. Because God will do what he has promised.

And one thing which so often times God seems that it's important to him to convey to us is that we will make it to heaven. We doubt and we feel like we have a reason for that. And our reason is that we look at ourselves and our chances. But we forget that we shouldn't look at ourselves. We should look at God.

When our options are used, when there's a dead end for us, when there's a brick wall before us, God with one majestic stroke opens the door and we just marvel at how did it happen? How did it make it happen again? And I said to myself many times, "Hey, why do you doubt? Why can't you believe that he will do it again and again? Always when it has to happen, he will do it."

When we are in the brink of hopelessness, we feel that there's no way out from that. If we knew what God's plan was, we wouldn't have doubted a bit. We wouldn't have worried at all. We would have just waited this glorious day to come when God again shows his might and power and takes care of our worries and concerns.

God is such and we are his children. Let us firmly and without doubting pray to him that he would remind this to us on the daily battle that we would never give up.

Dear brothers and sisters, uplift your hearts and believe your sins and doubts forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood. Be of good cheer. Just believe and enjoy the peace and the freedom and the love that God so abundantly has shed into his kingdom.

May God bless the spoken word in our hearts. Amen.

I want to thank you dear brothers and sisters for coming into our service. It's always so fun to see dear brothers and sisters from the other congregations and of course our own. If we didn't have service guests we wouldn't have services. It is good that you came and I want to thank those many who have served behind the scenes in so many different ways. May God bless it to you. May God give you this rich feeling of warmth and happiness which he gives when we serve him by serving his own.

Let us pray. Righteous God, dear Heavenly Father, we can never thank you enough for the goodness which you always show unto us. You are faithful and good and you bless our weak efforts every time. Dear God, we promise that we try to remember that, but if we forget and when we forget, please remind us again and please bless the sowing of your precious word that has happened during this weekend.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen. Amen.