By Ronald E.
George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church
(Face Off is a sermon series that invites all to come
face to face with the Lord.) Over
2000 years ago the Creator decided it was time to come to earth and to meet
face to face with His creation. To
make it possible to be known by the creation He chose to become one of them.
He grew a people who believed in Him through the faith of a man named
Abraham. Abraham and his
descendents would be the family through which God would come to earth.
The difference between the God man and earthly man was that He would be
perfect, as He had created them to be in the beginning.
This meeting of God and man would begin in a tiny place in the world
called Bethlehem. In this
forgotten place God would come into the world through a virgin woman named
Mary. He would live in a
carpenter’s home and be visited by shepherds, wise men, and others.
This sermon series declares that through the eyes of these humble
people we can see today the Lord face to face.
Through the eyes of Mary the virgin mother of the baby God we can see
how God calls women of today to bear the gift from God to those they know.
That gift is the gift of God Himself.
I will never forget the day I say Billy Graham face to face. At a Billy Graham School of evangelism in 1988, we sat a few
feet away from the famous evangelist. At
the final meeting of the school, my friends and I went an hour and a half
early to get on the front row of the 800 seat auditorium. I will never forget the night I saw Billy Graham face
to face.
I will never forget the night that I met the Lord face to face.
There was a flood in my soul as I felt the gentleness of His presence.
I felt His love and grace. You
can too. He changed my life.
He has changed people down through the ages.
He will change you too. Will
you meet Him today?
Scripture Text:
Luke 1:26 And in the
sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary. 28 And the angel came
in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is]
with thee: blessed [art] thou among women. 29 And when she saw [him], she
was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation
this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou
hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary
unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold,
thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this
is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing
shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be
it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Will you come to face off with the Lord?
1.
God wants to meet you face to face.
Thus the face off. In the face off the two opposing teams best players meet face
to face to do battle for the puck. God
wants to meet you face to face to go through life’s battles with you.
He will carry you if you will carry Him.
2.
God came to you. He
wants you to know Him on a face-to-face basis.
He wants you to know Him on a first name basis.
He wants you to know Him. He
already knows who you are. This
is for you.
3.
God has highly favored you. He is with you. He
wants you to see Him face to face. He
wants you to experience Him on an individual basis.
He has favored you and wants to come into your life to bless you and
strengthen you.
4.
God wants you to take His Son into your life.
Rev. 3:20 Today we will be
invited to take the communion. If
you take the communion bread and the cup, then you are symbolically taking the
Lord into your life. Will you
open the door, the hand, and the mouth to invite God into your life.
This is your choice today.
5.
God wants you to carry His Son and to give Him for your entire
world. He wants to enter into a
relationship that will give you opportunity to become involved in his plan to
bring salvation to the world. God
wants to not be afraid of receiving Him into your life. God wants you to yield to him.
Will you say as Mary did, “Be it unto me according to thy word?“
This is your opportunity for service.
6.
God will make it possible for you to do this impossible task.
God wants you to go against the grain.
He wants you to think outside the box and do something radical.
Mary took a great chance to take the Lord into body.
She risked death for becoming pregnant before her marriage to Joseph.
She risked losing her future husband by obeying God and submitting to
become the vessel of the Lord. What
have you risked? What would you
risk?
I had
walked life's way with an easy tread,
I had
traveled where pleasures and comfort lead
Until
one day in a quiet place,
I met
the Master face to face.
With
station and rank and wealth for my goal,
Much
thought for my body but none for my soul,
I'd
entered to win this life's mad race,
When
I met the Master face to face.
I
built my towers and reared them high,
'Til
they had pierced the blue of the sky.
I'd
sworn to rule with an iron mace,
When
I met my Master face to face.
I met
Him and knew Him and blushed to see,
That
His eyes, full of sorrow, were fixed upon me.
I
faltered and fell at his feet that day,
While
my castles melted and vanished away.
Melted
and vanished and in their place,
Nothing
else could I see but the Master's face.
My
thoughts are now for the souls of men,
I had
lost my life to find it again.
Since
that day in a quiet place,
When
I met the Master face to face.