Faithful Servants

 

Faithful Servant

December 20, 2020

2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16, Psalm 89: 1-5, Luke 1: 26-38, Hebrews 11: 1-40, !2: 1-3; Proverbs 3: 5-6

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.

Let us pray,

Today Lord, we ask that our hearts be opened and that we listen with open minds.  Fill us with the knowledge that faithful servants have heeded the call to do your will since the beginning of time. Make our will be your will. Let us respond as those who came before us. Amen

Our gospel story today is the response of Mary, the Lord’s servant, who responded to the angel, Gabriel, that not her will be done, but that of the Lord’s.  She stands in our Biblical accounts as a woman of great faith. The faith journey that Mary would take as the mother of our Lord and Savior would not be an easy one. She had no idea that her Son would become the sacrificial lamb who would come to save us all and lead us into eternity.

Mary, was a child of faith. She had been taught well by her parents and her faith family.  I see her sitting in the women’s section of the temple surrounded by wise and faithful women.  She stood in the cooking quarters of her home, on the banks of the river with the laundry, and in the company of those caring for the children and there she heard the stories of the ancients. As she sat at her father’s knees, she heard the talk of faith. There were no news commentaries to tell her how she should believe, just true testimony of the those who believed.

When the angel came to visit her and tell her of the great trust and favor that she held with God, she may have been momentarily confused.  But having heard the stories of old, she knew that there was only one response, “I am the Lord’s servant.  May your word to me be fulfilled.”

Today I bring to you the accounts of faithful servants who came before Mary. The words I speak are not my own, but the recalling of our ancients from the book of Hebrews. May our faith be increased and our willingness to serve be granted as we hear this scripture.

Hebrews 11:1-12:3

Faith in Action

11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.

³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Surely our confidence and faith can be increased when we step out in faith, just as those who came before us. Let us heed the words of the book of Proverbs:

Proverbs 3:5-6

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

Let us pray,

Great believers have come before us Lord.  Grant to us, hearts of belief.  Let our lives and our witness bring honor to you. We give you thanks for the examples of faith we witness daily.  As we enter this Christmas week, may our story of the Savior’s birth increase not only our faith, but the faith of those who need you the most. God, you are so good to us.

Amen

 

*It is not our words that increase faith. The Holy Spirit gives us the words to say and it is by God’s will that we step forth in faith to speak those words. May the scripture that comes from the Word of God be a blessing to you. Speak the words with confidence that come from a heart of faith.