1223 – Be Like Mary and Joseph 如马利亚和约瑟那样

Matthew 1:24-25 (NKJV) Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife. And did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.It takes true obedience and submission to accept a woman who is already pregnant as your wife especially if you barely even know her. That was what happened when Joseph took Mary as his wife.

Joseph obeyed God and took Mary as his wife so that the Abrahamic covenant would be fulfilled and all the nations on the earth would be blessed.

Luke 1:38(NKJV) Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (emphasis added)

Likewise, Mary was a model of responsive obedience even though she did not fully comprehend how she could conceive a baby despite not being with a man. It was of course a miraculous virgin birth.

She chose to obey and be used as a vessel by God. Sometimes, we might not see the full picture or the plan of God but we need to obey. It cost Mary and Joseph some real inconveniences (to say the least), but they obeyed out of their love for God.

Mary and Joseph were the conduits to fulfill the plan of God. They were willing to consecrate themselves to serve God. They were chosen to do the will of God through their lives.

Can you imagine that? Jesus was brought into this world out of Mary’s and Joseph’s obedience to God. Jesus, the Saviour of the world came to seek and save those who were lost! This IS the very reason for Christmas!

Luke 19:9-10 (NKJV) And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (emphasis added)

During this Christmas season, let us remind ourselves that Christ came to earth to seek and to save those who are lost. Through the Holy Spirit, He will use us to seek out the lost in the neighborhood and corporate offices. We are His ambassadors who have been given the Word and the ministry of reconciliation between God and men. We are to carry the message of the Good News that Jesus came for the ungodly. Jesus has dealt with the power of sin on the cross and all we need to do is to acknowledge our sins and His finished work on the cross and call upon the name of Jesus to be saved.

It is alright if you are the only Christian in the office because your partner – the Holy Spirit – will help you. It is He who will convict the person. We are just conduits for God’s blessing and a messenger of the Good News! We can choose to be a good vessel to be used by God. God has a will for every one of our lives to serve Him. This Christmas let it be a good time to reflect upon our relationship with the Lord, who He is and decide how our next year should be like in terms of our life’s priorities. Are you willing to be used by God just as Mary and Joseph were willing?

Sermon Series: Christmas


如马利亚和约瑟那样

马太福音1:24-25 约瑟醒了,起来,就遵着主使者的吩咐,把妻子娶过来,只是没有和她同房,等她生了儿子,就给他起名字叫耶稣。

接受一个已经怀孕的女子为妻需要真正的顺服和顺从,尤其是当你对她几乎一无所知时。约瑟娶马利亚为妻的时候就是这样。

约瑟顺服神,娶了马利亚为妻,使亚伯兰的盟约得以实现,地上的万民都得福。

路加福音1:38 马利亚说:“我是主的使女,情愿照你的话成就在我身上。”天使就离开她去了。

同样地,马利亚是一个顺服的模范,尽管她不理解未曾与男人同房如何能怀上孩子。这当然是一个童女生子的神迹。

她选择顺服作上帝的器皿。有时,我们可能看不到上帝完整的图画或计划,但我们需要顺服。这事为马利亚和约瑟带来真实的不便(至少可以这么说),但出于对上帝的爱他们都服从了。

马利亚和约瑟是实现神计划的管道。他们愿意分别为圣事奉神。他们被拣选以生命遵行神的旨意。

你可以想像吗?因着马利亚和约瑟对上帝的顺服,耶稣得以被带到这个世界上。
耶稣,救世主来到世上寻找和拯救失丧的灵魂!正是因为这个才有了圣诞节!

路加福音19:9-10 耶稣说:“今天救恩到了这家,因为他也是亚伯拉罕的子孙。人子来,为要寻找,拯救失丧的人。“

在这个圣诞节期,让我们提醒自己,基督来到地上是为了寻找和拯救那些失丧的人。透过圣灵,祂会使用我们在邻里和办公室里寻找失丧者。我们是祂的使者,我们被赋予上帝的道和使人与神和好的事工。我们要传递福音的好消息,告诉人们耶稣是为了不敬虔的人而来。耶稣已经在十字架上处置了罪的权势,我们所要做的就是承认我们的罪和祂在十字架上完成的大功,并呼求耶稣的名而得救。

如果你是办公室里唯一的基督徒也没关系,因为你的伙伴圣灵会帮助你。祂才是那个使人内心深处被感动的。我们只是上帝祝福的管道和传达好消息的使者!我们可以选择做被神所用的合用的器皿。上帝有一个意愿,让我们每一个人都去服侍他。这个圣诞节让我们好好反省一下我们与主的关系,思想祂是谁,决定我们明年的生命的优先次序。你愿意像约瑟和马利亚那样甘愿被上帝所用吗?

讲章系列:圣诞节