And so as we think of these verses that we have just read from Luke chapter 1, 26 to 38, we are reminded of what the angel said to Mary and the kind of things that were said concerning Jesus Christ. And let me go back and read, first of all, verses 32 and 33, because those are the critical verses that we want to consider. He will be great. and he will be called the son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. This is the announcement of the long-awaited king, the one that the Jews had been looking for. The Jewish people were longing to have their king once again. the son of David ruling on the throne. Mary was among those who was looking forward to this. And she, you'll notice, is referred to by Gabriel as a favored one. And not only is she a favored one, but she is one who is probably favored because of what she has been doing. Did you notice that? Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you. Now, if you've been here when we were looking at the ministry or the reign of King Asa, you remember there were those three maxims that were given to him in chapter 15. One of which is, the Lord is with you when you are with him. And so if Mary is one who is with the Lord, is one who is described here as the Lord being with her, it's because she is with Him. She is one who understands the things that the Scriptures have been teaching. She has been steeped in the Scriptures. She knows who the Son of David is and how there to be looking for the Son of David. And so here are these things that are said concerning the child that she would bear. Notice them. First of all, He will be great. And that seems to me to be a summary of the things that are said then in verses 32 and 33. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. Well, who's the Most High? Obviously, that's God, isn't it? The one who is sovereign over all, the one who is most high. Now that's an unusual expression for us. In fact, when I typed it into my sermon notes, there was a little squiggly line that was put under it saying, it should be highest. But most high is what we have so often in the scriptures. He is most high. And I think just by using that terminology helps us to understand that this is God. This is the Son of God. He will be called the Son of the Most High. And so we have read of Him already earlier in the service, as we read Hebrews chapter 1, and saw the great position, the glorious position that was given to Jesus, that He is the Son of God, the Son of the Most High. And then his father will give him the throne of his father David. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. And That means he is the son of David because he is in the line of David. David is his father. Now a number of times in the scriptures, especially rather in the New Testament, in the gospel accounts, we have him referred to as the son of David. You might recall the time that the blind man said, as they heard that Jesus was passing by, Jesus, son of David, have mercy upon us. These were people who no doubt had known from the scriptures, had known from the Old Testament, that Jesus, the son of David, would be one who would heal the blind. And so when they hear that Jesus is coming by, they call out to him, son of David, have mercy on us. They've been looking forward to the opportunity. Perhaps they'd even been thinking in earlier days, man, if the son of David comes while we're alive, maybe he can heal our blindness. And then they have heard about him, the things that he has been doing. Yes, this is the son of David. We know he can heal our blindness. And then he's actually passing by. And the blind men wonder, what's the disturbance? Jesus is coming by. Oh, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on us. What do you want me to do for you? Lord, that we may receive our sight. And so in various times, there is this matter that he is referred to as the son of David. That's the position that he holds. He is the king. He is the one who is descended from David. And Matthew is one who really makes that point by giving us the genealogy of Jesus, as does Luke. Then we are also reminded that he will reign forever over the house of Jacob. Now normally you might say, you might have expected him to say he will reign forever over the house of Israel, but he uses the term Jacob. the original name that was given to the older of the two twins, Jacob. In other words, this is not physical Israel that we're talking about, national Israel. But we're talking about something greater. And Matthew Henry is one that makes this point that this is therefore spiritual Israel. It is the people of God from all generations, not just those who are physical descendants of Abraham, but those who spiritually belong to him. And Paul, in writing to the church in Rome, makes that point that Yes, if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed. Heirs according to the promise. That's actually, I think, in Galatians, but in Romans, he talks about how a true Jew is one who is trusting in Jesus Christ. And of his kingdom, there will be no end. Of his kingdom, there will be no end. Perhaps One of the strains of that marvelous hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah come to mind. And he shall reign forever and ever. And we read of that in Revelation chapter 11, verse 15. He shall reign forever. Now, these things that have been said to Mary are wonderful, they're marvelous. But as we come to see how they are established in Chronicles and in the Old Testament history, it becomes even more marvelous. And so let's go back and look at some of those things. First of all, think of how things were, how kings and their gods were thought of during that time. It's hard for us to think in those terms in the United States of America because we don't think in terms of the nation having a god. Oh, we have plenty of gods here. But that's not the way we think of the nation. But when you look at the nations around Israel, They were nations who would have their gods, and the power of those gods would be evidenced by the power of the kings who ruled under them. And you see a bit of that evidence in a number of places in the Old Testament, and we won't take time to look at very many of them, but just a few. For example, In Exodus chapter 9, we have Pharaoh, and you remember what God said concerning Pharaoh, why he had raised him up? In order that I might show my power in him. Exodus 9, 16. For this purpose, I have raised you up to show my power so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. And then again in chapter 11, the first verse, The Lord said to Moses, yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward, he will let you go from here. So God's saying, I'm bringing the plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. But then what does he say in chapter 12, verse 12? For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast, and on all the gods of Egypt, I will execute judgments. You see, you remember the beginning where Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh with all his counselors and all his magicians, and they do the same things that Aaron does, except not quite the same. You remember he threw his staff down and it became a serpent. And so they did the same thing, but his errands swallowed theirs up. God was exercising his power over them, his power over their gods, his power over the king, Pharaoh. Well, when we look in the Old Testament, especially in the books of Chronicles, what we see is that David's throne is tied to the throne of God. One of the things we've noticed in going through Chronicles is that when the chronicler cites the events that take place, he is often reciting what is found in the book of Kings or Samuel and Kings, except for a change here and there that may seem to be may seem to be insignificant, but the more we look at them, the more significant we see that they are. Well, we've got that here as well. As we look in 2 Samuel chapter 7, we find that the promise is given through Nathan the prophet as to how David's kingship is to be established. And God said that he would make a house for David. Well, in 2 Samuel 7 and verse 16, We read, and your house and your kingdom, this is the prophet speaking for God, your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. Well, how does the chronicler recite this, this event? In Second Chronicles, or in First Chronicles, rather, Chapter 17, in verse 14, what do we read? I will confirm him in my house, that is God's house, in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever. So he changes your, David, to my, that is God, in giving us this other way of, this second repetition of the event. 1 Kings chapter 10, verse 9, we'll see one other change that takes place. Chapter 10, verse 9. 1 Kings 10 verse 9, blessed be the Lord, your God, who has delighted in you, this is the Queen of Sheba speaking, and set you on the throne of Israel because the Lord loved Israel forever. He has made you king that you may execute justice and righteousness. But when we go over then to 1 Kings 10, to 2 Chronicles chapter 9, and here of course we have her coming to Solomon, 2 Chronicles chapter 9, you can get the pages from sticking together, and verse 8, She talks about the glory of the kingdom that Solomon has here. And she says, blessed be the Lord, your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the Lord, your God. So on the one hand, it's Solomon's throne. And then on the other hand, it's the Lord's throne. And you see, the chronicler is tying both the earthly king and the heavenly king together. We won't take time to go through other instances of this, but just recognize that the chronicler is trying to get us to recognize the authority of God over all things. And that his kingdom and David's kingdom are tied together. The problem of course, is that right now, that is for the returned exiles, there's no king. So what does that say in the world of that day? Your God isn't very strong. No king? What's the matter with your God? Your God cannot have a king who is able to rule and to conquer all these other nations. And so this was a great concern for the people of Judah as they had returned from the exile. Now, as we move forward, we see that they had great hope for Zerubbabel, who was a leader of the exiles after they had returned. And we read of him, for example, in the book of Haggai. as well as in the book of Zechariah, books towards the end of the Old Testament in our English Bibles, but books that deal particularly with the returned exiles. In Haggai chapter 2, at the very end of his book, the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the 24th day of the month, speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake heavens and earth and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of kingdoms of the nations and overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the horses and their riders shall go down. everyone by the sword of his brother. On that day, declares the Lord, I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts. So there he is in the line of David, one who would be, who was ruling over the Jews in Judah. And so they had great hope in Zerubbabel. Now we can have the king, now we can have this powerful king to show that we have a powerful God as part of what's going through their minds. But then he kind of disappears. He's mentioned also in Zechariah chapter 4, we won't take time to look that up, but their hope was being dashed it seemed. And so messianic hope really began to wane back then. And when you think of the Jews, the Jewish people today, they have lost all messianic hope. Oh, they'll talk about it, but they really don't have any expectation of him coming. But now we come to Mary. And here's this announcement that is made to Mary. concerning the Son that would be born to her, that He will be called the Son of the Most High, the Son of God. The Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David. He will reign forever over the house of Jacob. Of His kingdom there will be no end. These are exactly the things that they're looking for so that they can stand before the nations and say, look, we have a God who is powerful. In fact, he is omnipotent because our king is one who remains forever. He will not die. He will not be destroyed. His kingdom will endure forever. There is no other kingdom that will be able to overthrow his kingdom, but his will be the one that endures. What we find then when we come to the New Testament, and we find the fulfillment of what Gabriel said to Mary, that it's exactly as he said to her. In Matthew chapter 12, we are reminded of the power of Christ. He had just cast out a demon here in Matthew chapter 12. And beginning with verse 22, that's where the demon-possessed man, oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him and he healed him. And so people began to say, can this be the son of David? They're remembering, here's what the Old Testament said. Here's what our scriptures say. They didn't call it the Old Testament. Can this be the son of David? Can this be the one that we have been looking for all this time? But of course, there were the Pharisees who scoffed at the idea. No, he uses the devil in order to cast out the devil. Well, Jesus puts that one to rest in a hurry, because if the devil casts out the devil, then he's divided and his house cannot stand. But he says, if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out, therefore they shall be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strongman's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strongman? Then indeed he may plunder his house. You see the implication of what he's saying. I've just cast out a demon. I am plundering the strongman's house. I have already bound the strongman. Do you recognize the strongman? representing, of course, Beelzebul or the devil, is bound is what he is saying. I have bound him. Now he seems to have quite a bit of power sometimes. Nevertheless, God says, or Jesus says he is bound. And he sits on the throne of David. In Acts chapter two, verse 22, the day of Pentecost, Peter gives that great message where he mentions that Jesus has been seated on the throne of David because he is the Lord's Messiah. His kingdom is one that is eternal. After all, he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, as is shown to us in the book of Revelation once again. Okay. This is all well and good for the exiles who have returned. What does it mean for us? Well, there are a number of applications, no doubt, that we can make concerning this. First of all, that we remember that the strong man has been bound, that Jesus has bound the enemy, and that all enemies will be placed under his feet. But let's begin with the very fact that we must trust Him for eternal life. If there is anyone here who is not yet trusting in Jesus Christ for eternal life, this is an obvious application of this message. That you must be turned to Him, you must submit to Jesus as the King, the Son of David, who has power over all your enemies, and He will destroy you. if you do not turn to Him, if you do not come to trust in Him and rejoice in Him as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. But I trust that most of you are already trusting in Jesus Christ. You have come to that point where you have confessed your sins, where you have said, yes, Jesus is Lord, I'm a sinner, and it's by His grace that when I confess my sins, He grants me forgiveness. But we must go on from that point to recognize the ramifications that continue from making that confession. And so it's in First Corinthians 15, that great resurrection chapter, and verse 25, that we read that he will reign until he puts all enemies under his feet. And of course, that expression, putting the enemies under his feet, that was a sign of dominance that one king had over another. Remember when, back in the book of Joshua, when they would defeat these kings, one of the things that, after he had defeated the kings of the south, they'd broken their backs, Joshua called the leaders of Israel and said, put your feet on their necks. Because God is going to give you the land. And so there was a physical demonstration that he had of their power over these other kings. He wanted to encourage the people, the leaders of Israel, and so he had them put their feet on the necks of these kings before he killed them. He subdues every enemy, they must all be placed under his feet. What are the enemies of your righteousness? What are the things that keep you from walking righteously? Jesus has overcome those enemies. Now remember, that applies to various addictions that we may have. And I'm not just talking about illegal drugs. There are other kinds of addictions that we can have. Maybe it's addictions to video games. Or addictions to, an addiction to watching television. It's not that it is evil in and of itself. But when Christ says we are to redeem the time, has that become an addiction for you? He puts all enemies under His feet. You know what it is that affects you, the sins that are difficult for you to overcome. But this is the good news. He has overcome them because He has put all enemies under His feet and He reigns forever and ever as the sovereign Lord of all the earth. And he does that for the church as well, not just for us as individuals, but for us as his people. And so we think of our brothers and sisters who are in various lands like China, who are being persecuted. Christ has authority over those enemies. But we have those enemies right here in the United States. Those who do not like Christianity. And even among those who say they like Christianity are trying to change it. They would twist the scriptures to make it say something other than what the scriptures actually say. And we become frustrated very easily when we see those things happening. And we must remember that the son of David is raining, and the Father has put all things under, all his enemies under his feet. They are subdued for his glory, and we can be confident in him. Scripture's message all through from Genesis to Revelation is that Jesus, the Son of the Most High, is most high. He is himself God and he reigns sovereignly. So the what of Gabriel's message to Mary, the things that were said to her concerning this child that would be born, these are things that are fulfilled, all fulfilled in Christ according to the promise of the Father. And we must respond to him with a confident faith in him as the king, as the one who is ruling. And he rules with all power and all authority because his God, his own father, is the omnipotent one, the one who can never be overthrown. Turn with me then to the 21st Psalm. Notice what is said here concerning the relationship of Christ and the Father, because when it speaks of the King here, it's talking about the Messianic King, which is David, first of all, but then, through David, the son of David, even Jesus Christ. Because the King trusts in the Lord, his confidence is sure. You see, the King has power because his God has all power. And through the love of him most high, the king is kept secure. You see the blessing there of the father to the son, the son of David. Your hand will search for enemies and find out all your foes and all who harbor hate for you, your right hand will oppose. And we can say you will oppose them successfully. Let's sing this Psalm, Psalm 21, the B selection. Let's stand as we sing and remain standing for prayer and the benediction.