The Joy of Favor

Last week we began a series entitled THE SEASON OF OUR JOY. More than any other holiday, the Christmas Season is marked by joy that is evident in the many songs of the season. In the Christmas season we reflect upon the birth of our Lord and Savior, and celebrate the fact that in the Nativity, God became man.
One cannot fully appreciate the Christmas story without first understanding the story of Zacharias and Elizabeth. They were the parents of the forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist. When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias in the Temple, he was the first person since the Prophet Malachi (four hundred years before) who had a prophetic encounter. In that encounter we saw THE JOY OF FAITHFULNESS:
FAITHFUL THOUGH CRITICIZED (Luke 1:7)
FAITHFUL IN RESPONSIBILITY (Luke 1:8-10)
FAITHFUL DESPITE FAILURE (Luke 1:18)
Our text today is the story of Mary’s encounter with the same angel, Gabriel, who appeared to Zachariah just a few months before. Theologians call this encounter the Annunciation. It marks one of the most significant moments in human history. The first woman, Eve, had witnessed a significant promise given by God in the Garden of Eden to the serpent:

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel. Genesis 3:15

Now, the seed of the woman would finally be revealed.
When Gabriel appeared to Mary, he told her to “Rejoice,” because she was highly favored. God favored her so much that He chose to use her as the vessel for the birth of Christ. She has a reason to rejoice! The title of my message is, THE JOY OF FAVOR. Think about the impact of those words. We can have joy as God’s children because He has favored us and given us His grace (unmerited favor). How is the joy of favor found?