The Servant's Hope Luke 1:39-56
Notes
Transcript
Strong leaders never lose hope.
The story is told of a great, never-say-die general who was taken captive and thrown into a deep, wide pit along with a number of his soldiers. In that pit was a huge pile of horse manure.
“Follow me,” the general cried to his men as he dove into the pile, “There has to be a horse in here somewhere!”
-The Lord gives His servants reason for hope
-The Lord gives His servants reason for hope
I. The Lord is With Us vv. 39-43
I. The Lord is With Us vv. 39-43
When we pick up the account, Mary has travelled to visit her cousin Elizabeth; this is a meeting of two faithful women who have an important role to play in God’s plan for redemption
When Mary arrives, something incredible happens: The baby within her leaps for joy and the Spirit speaks with power
The Lord has come and is present in the room
However, He has come in the form of a baby, the child of Mary
He has come, yet He is also in the process of coming; this is also our hope
At Christmas we remember that the Lord has come to us as a child of promise, He is with us as indwelling Holy Spirit, He is returning soon as conquering King
Whichever direction we look, we see that God is with us
II. The Lord Blesses Faith vv. 44-45
II. The Lord Blesses Faith vv. 44-45
God does something special here; He offers words of confirmation to Mary to strengthen her faith through the testimony of an outside witness
Mary still does not have all of the answers to all of the questions, but she can be certain that God has not left her alone; He is at work and is aware of her situation
Specifically, the Lord will bless her faith in Him. What does this blessing look like?
There is a contentment and a joy that comes through belief
This is not a blissful ignorance of the hard realities of life
It is, however, a confident trust that the Lord cares for His people and He is worthy of our obedience
When we have this kind of certainty, we have the foundation of hope!
Money magazine reported in its January 1997 issue that a group of people were asked which is longer, the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal, and then asked how certain they were that their answer was correct. Among those who were 60% certain, 50% of them got the answer right—meaning that this group was 10% too sure. But among those who were 90% certain, only 65% got the answer right, meaning that this group was 25% too sure.
Apparently, according to this reported study, the more convinced we are of our knowledge, the bigger the gap between what we actually know and what we think we know. Such overconfidence leads to an illusion of control. As we overestimate the value of our own skills and knowledge, it leads us to make mistakes.
One of the hardest challenges for people is to accept just how little they really know. An example of overestimated knowledge took place a few years ago when a Spanish national lottery winner was asked how he selected the ticket number. He answered that he was positive his lucky number ended in 48—because, he said, “I dreamed of the number seven for seven straight nights. And seven times seven is 48.”
-When we place our confidence in God rather than in our own capability, we are in exactly the right place!
III. The Lord Exalts the Humble vv. 46-50
III. The Lord Exalts the Humble vv. 46-50
Mary launches into a song of praise that highlights God’s work in her life
How does God treat this young woman?
He sees her humble condition and does not ignore her
He sees fit to give her a place of honor that is great among all people
We can have confidence that He extends this kind of mercy to all people who fear Him
He sees us, exactly where we are and is not ignorant of our circumstances
He is working to give grace to us
This kind of action is not extraordinary for God; it is completely consistent with His character
The humble, the meek, and the insignificant are of incredible value to God
IV. The Lord Humbles the Proud vv. 51-53
IV. The Lord Humbles the Proud vv. 51-53
Just as He exalts the humble, the Lord also humbles the proud
Our world is filled with people with a false sense of pride that is founded in their own works and worth
What will God do to them in their arrogance?
He removes them from power
He scatters their possessions
He shatters their pride
As powerful as the powers and systems at work in the world seem, God is never overcome by them
We can fully trust Him to be God and to be in control!
Psalm 2:1–4
[1] Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
[2] The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
[3] “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
[4] He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision. (ESV)
V. The Lord Remembers His People vv. 54-56
V. The Lord Remembers His People vv. 54-56
All of this that has taken place is the centerpiece of a greater plan
What God is doing through Mary, in Christ, is His answer to Abraham
Scripture is telling one big story:
About a God who created a perfect world
About rebellion that entered in and marred Creation
About a promise to Abraham
About the righteous requirement of God revealed to Moses
About the coming of a King named David
About the hope of Messiah from the prophets
The whole point of the story is Jesus; God keeps His promises to us through Christ!
We have hope because of His Son!
A television interviewer was walking streets of Tokyo at Christmas time. Much as in America, Christmas shopping is a big commercial success in Japan. The interviewer stopped one young woman on the sidewalk, and asked, "What is the meaning of Christmas?"
Laughing, she responded, "I don't know. Is that the day that Jesus died?"
There was some truth in her answer.
Romans 8:31–32
[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (ESV)