December 11, 2016

Good morning.

Welcome to Hillandale Christian Church were thrilled to have all of you here. It was a joy to have all the kids up here just a few moments ago and I happen to be the lucky one for whom my daughter spotted me and said Daddy immediately. And that reminded me of the fact that in some ways not in every case, but but in some ways are our children's reaction to us is a a a a a testimony to who we are as parents or grandparents if we're grandparents. Sometimes we come into a room and the kids are just so excited Grandma and Grandpa and they're just real and that says something about Grandma and Grandpa didn't it? You know and I grew up of a dad that sometimes will not sometime sadly most the time when he came home. We straightened up and wipe the smiles off her face and tried to not get caught having any kind of fun things and that said something about who he was in the home. But I love the fact that sometimes when I come home both the girls will just dancing and run to the door and say daddy daddy daddy. The way we respond to God says something about God. He is our heavenly father.

And the Expressions on our face in worship the way we respond to scripture when we read it and were convicted by it. The energy we put forth in serving him and seeing his face in others and those in need all of those say something about God the way we respond to him. You know Jesus said in Matthew 25 that the least of these when were serving the least of these he said look you're serving me.

So the way what we see when we see somebody in need what we how we act all those things reveal something about God. Our mission as a church and as Christians is to glorify God and the word glorify means to make known the goodness to it to reveal the goodness of God. the way we react to him is this window that we open to others on what he's like it if my children saw me and run and hid That would say something about what I'm like Mary. We're studying Mary this month and passages in Luke about Mary and she is this model child of God. The way she responds to the angel from God and Heaven above the way she responds to his message to her is this model example for us and it says something about what God is like we ended last we talkin about this the passes we ended in says Mary responded. I am the Lord's servant May everything you have said about me come true and then the angel left her. She's this model example. When this this challenging word everything you had planned is going to go a different direction this ideal engagement and marriage and and honor and respect in the community is going to be replaced instead with Scandal and Whisper and controversy and poverty and hardship it later. She told about the sword that will pierce her swords and in response to all of that because it was from God in heaven above her response was I am your servant may it be to me the way you've spoken we talked a little bit about that language of serving it literally means slave but it's nothing like the image we have of slavery in our minds humans have taken slavery and turned into a horrible thing in this context at that time historically, it would have been her willingly giving herself to service of God's because of his greatness. So in this Angel says God has got a plan to redeem the world and he wants to use you. She says I would be honored. I will gladly be your servant that I could be used by you that I can work in your court that I could bring glory to your name because God is so good. We have people like that in our life don't we aren't there times in which you are thrilled to do something for someone else because of who they are. I mean you ever do something special for your mother or your father or one of your children and your very excited about it because it's the thing they always wanted or something they really needed and there's no part of you that are burdened by that act of service instead your your stove der excited all I can't wait for Mom to open this gift. I can't wait for my kid to see what they're going to get because you're thrilled to love them and to show them honor and glory and it's that sort of spirit when she says may it be to me the way you spoken. I am your servant. I'm so Mary is this model child of God for you and I to follow the next versus a few days later Mary hurried to the Hill Country of Judea to the town where Zachariah live she entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. So she was all alone at the end of the passage we talked about last week, but soon after the angel left. She hurried to see Elizabeth. There's this excitement in the original language there. She's not like I got to hurry. I don't have enough time. It's instead the way you hurry, you know to the ice cream store on a hot July afternoon, or the way you hurry home after Christmas Eve service if that's the night that you open gifts or the way the kids hop out of bed on Christmas morning and say Oaks they hurry down to get up mom and dad. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. It's excitement about what's coming. It's that sort of her in the original language. She excitedly went to see Elizabeth the passage continues when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the holy spirit. So even before Mary shared her news with her relative Elizabeth the news that the angel had said to her you're going to give birth to a child who's going to save the world and you're relatively She's pregnant with a child tooth. That's also miraculous. So Mary went right away to see her before I even shared her news God confirmed his presence in that moment Elizabeth felt the baby leap in her womb and Elizabeth were told In this passage was filled with the Holy Spirit In This Moment scriptures continue in a loud voice. She exclaimed blessed. Are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear. Now I had honestly never really noticed. It's amazing how you can go to scripture again and again and again and sometimes you notice something for the first time. I had not noticed that Luke goes out of his way to say she she said this in a loud voice.

They have you noticed that before the image we have is like made from Christmas cards, you know, if we have these image of a reserved celebration of hold. This is so wonderful of you are blessed among women, you know, we have this kind of high Church picture of how this moment with would occur that she would say. I hope you're here and the baby has sleep and I'm filled with the Holy Spirit to pronounce upon you you are blessed among all women, but really when you look at the text and the original language, it has this overwhelming sense of excitement against our children don't wake up on Christmas morning and come to our room since I mother father if it's not too early if I'm not disturbing you in the least bit. Maybe we can have some coffee and eggs. And then when the time is right, you know, we'll we'll go downstairs and civilized manner know they don't jerk you out of bed by your socks right and say it's time to go and there's this excitement in this passage in a loud voice. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear but why am I so favored? She continues in this that same word that the angel used to describe Mary that she's favorite God's grace is upon her. Why am I so favoured that the mother of my Lord should come to see me as soon as the sound of your greeting reach my ears the baby in my womb leaped for Joy blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her. And so Mary declared God's blessing or Elizabeth declared God's blessing on Mary and her child and she praised Mary's faith more evidence that this is a holy spirit moment, cuz she doesn't just say. Oh, I'm so excited. You've come to visit me. She knows immediately. This is the mother of my Lord and blessed. Are you among all women in all time and blessed? Are you because of your faith because you believe what God has promised to you. And Mary said my soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

Mary glorified God rather than herself and she rejoiced that God had provided for her a savior. I mean think about it at that moment. Your Instinct could be to meet Lee kind of sex isn't this exciting? I can't believe I'm going to have a baby come down. So I'm so excited about this and it's going to be such a wonderful thing to be focused on that. But her immediate Focus was yes God It's the glory god gets the glory and Not only was she thinking about that moment in her own life, but she was thinking about her role as someone who would be redeemed or Saved By God's activity. God has provided. He is my savior that Mary had that Insight on both levels. Only what was happening to her in the moment, but the way it was being used by gods in The Meta Narrative of his Redemption of all of humanity everything promised up to that moment and the promise as it goes forward in the future. For he has been mindful of me. Mary continues hit-re has been mindful of the humble state of his servant from now on all generations will call me blessed for the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name is Mercy extends to those who fear Him from generation to generation. He's perform. I need he's with his arm still scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts is brought down rulers from their Thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the Hungry with good things but has sent the rich away married demonstrated in that that song that she sings called The Magnificent as she demonstrated her knowledge of scripture because a lot of that comes from a song out of Samuel a praise for God providing a child, but it also gives on themes all throughout scripture. Some Scholars would say, you know, I think this indicates that somebody else has come back and looked at scripture and put these words into Mary's mouth. But nothing about the transcripts or the Gospel of Luke or anything that you look at historically suggest that instead the more logical explanation is that Mary was a faithful Jewish girl who knew the scriptures? And who knew Israel's history and the new all the themes in the scripture that God one day was going to redeem humanity and that God one day was going to take the mountains that were that were high and made them that God one day was going to take those who had need and fill that need for them. And that's it's the proud and the Bulls forward become humble and that the humble would be lifted. Those things are all throughout scripture demonstrates In this passage. Her knowledge of God's word when she celebrates and she sings this song about what God has done.

He has helped his servant Israel remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever. Just as he promised our ancestors Mary recognize that her son would fulfill God's covenant Abraham. Do you see the knowledge of scripture that she demonstrates In this passage that she understands the entire meta-narrative a scripture that she understands all of scripture in this way. She sees all those things in the past and she looks and sees the promise to Abraham and says, you know what God is doing it's not just this moment with me God is fulfilling the covenants and his promise to Abraham. This is a whole new life changing world changing earth-shattering moment all generation. She says all generations will call me blessed because of what God is doing I thank him. He's my savior to he's redeeming me to there's this celebration Spirit In this passage.

I want to share something once I may have shared this in the past that I can't fully remember, but my dad was a mixed bag as I mentioned earlier. Sometimes he brought kind of a heaviness into the room that made you kind of say now straighten up and don't let anybody let him see you're having a good time. But he also had a side to him that was optimistic at times and it was full of Hope in it. And and sometimes he was a fun fun guy to be around and one of my memories is that he always kind of been Vision that he was going to win the lottery one day. He was that kind of guy, you know that just thought one day my ships going to come in and at this time Tennessee did not have a lottery but Virginia did and we live close to the Virginia border and so occasionally maybe once every couple of months he get that in his mind and he would say to my brother hate going to be in Bristol which was the city right on the Tennessee Virginia border. He said why don't you go across the border, you know and get me. A couple get a couple lottery tickets force will play the lottery tonight. And so one time that happened my brother got a couple lottery tickets and this is a complicated story but you have to understand all the factors to understand this moment. My brother lived in the apartment below my parents house at that time and they had two different Cable packages. So my brother could get the channel That announced the winning lottery ticket winning lottery tickets, but my dad could not so my dad had his lottery ticket as well at the way. He always did and the way he always would he called down and said hey to my brother watch the show tonight and write down the numbers for me. Well mom got this idea. She slipped the lottery ticket out of Dad's wallet and wrote down the numbers to the ticket. He had and gave them to my brother. So that evening my brother came upstairs and my dad got at the kitchen table and he got his glasses. He got his wallet out and got that ticket out. If they give me the number to my brother start reading them off to him and they started my dad looking on. He should carefully read those read those Rita this one this one and then every one of a matched, you know, like a 10 million-dollar Lottery with my dad said I born time he jumped up and in the house that we grew up in you could go from the kitchen to the hallway to the living room to the kitchen against you can make a little circle and he started making that little circle Bora Bora Bora Bora. He started singing songs and say I'm going to buy you a house Phyllis to my mom. I'm going to buy you a car Freddy. I'm going to buy you a car to Cambria California beach house. We're going to celebrate it. And then we all owe no. Oh no. Oh, he's going to hurt. Everyone of us honey. This is going to hurt on us for this moment worse than anything we've ever seen and when we finally worked up the nerve when he stopped when he got tired enough to sit down and say I'm going to take a break. When are you rested from that moment Mom? Finally pushed up the nerve to tell him what she had done and in a rare moment of maturity. My dad said well. You know what? At least now I know what it feels like to win.

And he enjoyed that celebration enough to let go of the fact that he was tricked a little bit there. Now that to me that memory is a pure moment of Celebration. Honestly, if one of us won the lottery, we would not go to the window and look out at the heavens and say I thank the Lord most high but I have won the lottery. I will do great things for my family and then sit down quietly. I think most of us would celebrate a lot. Like my dad did I don't know when you guys pregnant if I'm around. I think that the Wildcats have won a few championships. Is that the case? Have any of you ever celebrated?

What does it look like? Everyone just kind of quiet and reserved they all go to the window and look out. Thank you Lord that we have once again won the National Championship. We shall celebrate with dignity and style or wait a minute are people so excited and so happy that they don't know what to do. So they dragged Furniture in the street and set it on fire.

It's a party baby. We're celebrating were celebrating when you when you look at this original language of Mary song called The Magnificent, which is an unfortunate title because it's just the Latin word years later after the translation doesn't really speak to the original and it created this sense of this song with Mary Hill in this order reserved. My soul glorifies. The Lord has done my name Shall be Called blessed but in the original language, this was a Yeehaw hoedown celebration moment. She sang the song to God. She celebrated everything that God has promised for centuries his promises that he would redeem Humanity that we would not live in the universe where the wealthy for the powerful clear ROM oppressed those who are under them for eternity instead. I promise that one day those things will be flipped the stations that rule. Will be turned over fence. I'm either be a savior through b love and humility and Grace and Redemption and God's way would Prevail in this is that day all generations will call me. For this is the beginning of God being the Savior to all of humanity. It's this tremendous celebration.

It's a model of being a good child of God.

Oh God. so excited I think we're invited this morning to see the example of Mary and Elizabeth to us the passage ends with Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three more months and then returned home. Elizabeth and Mary are examples for us because they knew and honored God's word through obedience. There's times in which I think we we we think that we can honor God's word without obedience. But you really can't can you? Keep using the parent-child analogy. If I say two will will I really need you to clean your room really? Well, we're going to have company and we're going to put you on the couch and they're going to stay in your room. So the language we use is realtor clean. If you'll pretend we're selling the house and HER Realtors going to be there. We're talkin top-level clean clean your room. If I ask Will to do that as his father and I came home and he had not done that but he said but but that hold on I memorized exactly what you said. I memorized it you said we'll please clean your room very well before 5 today. Add memorized it mailed. It matter fact, I went and had it needle pointed and framed and I've got it hung in the hallway in our house. And there it is will clean your room really well by 5 p.m. Today. And then also I've got some friends are going to come over to later and we're going to talk about those words. We're going to set the circle. We're going to see who memorize those words properly. They will make her own little needlepoint. All of us will hang those worth it to see where I'm going. What honors the father in that scenario. Obedience. Hey, Dad, come upstairs. Look at my room. You asked me to clean it really well, and I did Mary and Elizabeth are models for us because they honored the word of God through obedience. That's the best way to honor the word of God. When you read a passage of scripture when you've got it hung on your wall when you got underlined in your Bible when you've got a treasured and memorized in your heart the best way to turn that into reality the best way to honor God in that moment is to obey that scripture. Forgot to look down and see that scripture lived out in our lives. So maybe this week you take one favorite verse 1 verse that you've got underlined or memorized her on your mirror on your hall hallway wall. You say what would it mean for me to obey that verse? honestly You you might please the heavenly father more and do more for your spiritual life. If you took one verse in over the next 7 days you strive to obey that verse. So instead of saying well, I'm going to read 30 vs. Every day for the next 7 days, but if you just read them and say that was awesome. I can't wait to read another 30 versus the next day. If you just read them and you don't pause long enough to say it's not asking me something in these verses. Is this a word from the Lord? What does it mean for me to obey these verses? That's the honoring of God is obeying the scriptures that are taught to us that we read and that we study and Mary and Elizabeth are examples of that. They're also examples in that they celebrated God's goodness with one another. They both knew the word of God. They're both filled with the Holy Spirit and they still needed to be together. Think about that. I think it's interesting that the end of the first passage. We looked at last week the angel mentions Elizabeth and I think he mentions Elizabeth to the reasons we pointed out it's an example of God's faithfulness to encourage. Marry your relative who could not have a child is now with child God does these things he's promises but also think it was a connection that we see immediately this week as soon as the angel left her what Mary do well now that I know that I'm going to go visit Elizabeth and she went to be with her friend and they encouraged each other. They celebrated God's goodness Elizabeth is in this loud voice proclaiming God has blessed you marry sings. This year's song of what God has done all throughout history and is doing now in her life and will continue to do to change the world. They celebrate God's goodness together. Too often. I think we make the mistake of living kind of an isolated faith. We think well, it's just me and Jesus. You don't have to go to church get in get out. We miss out on the opportunity to celebrate God's goodness with one another we miss out on the opportunity. If we don't intentionally reach out in relationships, we miss out on the opportunity to encourage one another to build one another up to practice the one another's of the New Testament. Sometimes folks will say to me, you know, I just don't feel like anyone at the church cares. and sometimes that person will be someone who comes in a few minutes after the service starts and leaves a few minutes before the service is over and they're just in and I'll invite them. Hey, would you like to come to this group or this class or this event? Will I haven't got time for that? You heard me say before you can only be cared for as much as you allow yourself to be known. So if you don't let us know or let someone else know what prayer concerns are on your heart what things are weighing you down what needs you have or what gives you have to celebrate with others. Then you're missing out on the opportunity in Port of what Mary and Elizabeth model is with the word of God in their heart and filled with the Holy Spirit. They still came together and needed one another. It wasn't this I can do it. Now that's so built into us. That's what that's what sky my little girl who said Daddy Daddy up here. That's what she says to me all the time. I do it I do it. I mean no matter what it is. I'm just trying to pick up both legs and one side of the pants, you know, I do it. I do it and on some levels that's wonderful. Why want to encourage that development at Independence, but we can't carry that I knew it fully into adulthood in such a way that we Honor God's word in some way that we actually don't obey it because there's 58 commands in the New Testament that use the phrase one another 5858 commands in the New Testament that say love one another care for one another pray for one another bear one another's burdens forgive one another encourage one another and the list goes on and on and on but the only way I can pray for one. Another is that I've got to be still and slow my fast-paced life down long enough to be sitting next to someone long enough to have a conversation long enough and slow enough for them to be able to say hello, by the way. I'm having surgery next week. Would you pray for me? And I got to have the boldness to say. Yes. A free right now. Let's pray together. But too often we we we think that's a great in that a great idea to pray for one another. I think it's an awesome idea because we think that's awesome. And then we just got to go straight on with our busy life. The challenge is to see their model that we honor God's word most by obeying it and that obedience to God were God's word includes being together not being isolated celebrating God's goodness with one another reveling in God's character and his goodness, aren't you? So encouraged when you find out that God is doing great things in someone else's life. I didn't know that it's so good to hear that encourages my spirit that makes me want to say to you. Will you pray for me? Because the truth is I've been told me by this but I've got this particular struggle in my life and you're sharing about your life makes me feel like I can share about my life and suddenly a new testament obedience has occurred and Son were encouraging one another were building one another up one another uplifting one another up. So I invite the worship team to come forward and and I made an audible this morning errands all is great about that. I said, I want us to celebrate God's goodness together for our what's traditionally thought of as the hymn of invitation. So in just a moment, we'll all stand and they're going to lead us in the song. They sang once already Angels We Have Heard On High but it's the one that's got a little umph to it. That's got a little celebration to it and I want us to celebrate to get Weather this morning God's goodness that he has recognized our status as those who are in need as those who need him and he has provided a way through Jesus Christ is provided a way maybe through parent that loved us and race Us in the church or spouse who has drawn us closer to Christ or friends right here in the church who reached out to us and drawn us closer to him. God has worked in our lives. Amen. All of us I think in one way or another could probably say there's there's a way you can if it's the smallest way. There's a way in which I think God has possibly called me or blessed me or provided for me. Even if it's the tiniest thing. There's something that caused us to come to church this morning. Either last time of knowing God is good and gracious and provides and we're here to celebrate and worship him or maybe something happened for the first time this week and we just thought maybe guns out there. Maybe I'm maybe I'll go explore a little bit. So I invited us during this song to celebrate God's goodness. There's a second invitation during this song If you have a decision to make or prayer concern, I'll be in the back and they'll be other prayer folks both in the front and the back don't remain isolated. If you've got something that's weighing you down. If you got a Perkins turn, you know what the reason we are standing in the back. The reason we are standing in the front is because we genuinely love you and care about you and we want to pray for you. Because God has already done so much for us that we want to reach out and do for others. And so we gladly are available for any prayer concern or questions or decisions. You have any of us standing in the back of the front come to us and let us pray for you or answer questions. You might have about a decision. Take that opportunity, even though it'll be a little bit different. This will be kind of an upbeat song that were singing. Maybe that'll make it even easier to kind of make noise and make your way out of you and find one of us to to it to pray with this morning. Please stand as we sing.