Mary's Song of Praise

Introduction

This morning is the First Sunday of Advent and in line with this we are going to begin our new sermon Series, Songs of Christmas. This will be a look at some of the key songs that talk about the birth of our saviour Jesus. I think we’ll find throughout the next four weeks of Advent, that as we go through these songs we will hear the joy and excitement that they were anticipating as they waited for and saw the birth of Jesus. And so this morning as we get started on this Advent journey we are going to talk about the anticipation that was welling up in the lives of the people at the time of Jesus’ birth and what that means for us 2000 years later.

Who here just loves Christmas. Like loves this time of year and everything that comes with it? I know for me I become a bit of a grinch this time of year until probably a day or so before Christmas. And I think this grinchness is brought on by how my mind works. Like I get wrapped up in the thought process of Christmas being about everything else but Jesus. I find myself sitting on this thought that there is a lot of wanting that goes on during this time of year. Like the only thing that I hear is how someone is wanting this and that and I find that it really begins to bother me. This thinking is so different than when I was a kid and I’d be so stinking excited about Christmas in October. Like after Halloween my mind was wrapped around Christmas coming. And I remember all the anticipation that was going on in my mind and just the desire to be off school, hanging out with my family, getting gifts and just having the best time during Christmas. Cause you know as a kid you have that one track mind, not many negative things cloud your thoughts as a kid. The innocent desire to see Christmas for what it is, a time of celebration and anticipation of gifts, is so amazing. And I look back at that time and I’m jealous that I’ve let my adultness and grownupness almost ruin this for me. And I think this is really why Jesus would say in , “unless you becoming like little Children, you will never see the kingdom of heaven”. Because Jesus knew that we’d let our grownupness strip us away of the innocent and simple desires and anticipations that we had as kids and we’d cloud it with our thinking and negativity. I hope I’m not the only one going through this but I hope that as we spend this time together this morning that we will see and feel the desire and anticipation that was had by Mary, Jesus’ mother as she carried our Saviour, and her Saviour in her womb. And that if you’re like me that we’d maybe readjust our thinking this Christmas season, starting with this first Sunday of Advent, and that we’d anticipate this time leading up to Christmas and the celebration of Jesus.

Background and Passage

We’re going to look at this morning. This story is often called the Magnificant, which is the latin translation of the first few words of this passage. And as you are turning to this I just want to quickly look at what has taken place so far in the book of Luke. It actually starts with a miracle through a woman named Elizabeth. She was a relative of Mary, Jesus’ mother. The bible describes that she was advanced in years and that an angel of the Lord appeared to her husband Zechariah, who was a priest. This angel told Zechariah that his wife would bear a child, and this child would be named John and he would “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God”. What he would do is to evangelize and tell people about Jesus. He would make them ready and prepare them for the coming of Jesus. Elizabeth and Zechariah then conceived a child and await his birth.

Then after we learn that the angel Gabriel was sent from God to Nazareth to Mary, a virgin that was due to be married to a man named Joseph. She is told that the Holy Spirit will place a baby inside of Mary to be born and this child will be the son of God. And then Mary says some of the most profound words. In verses 37-38 is says about her situation, “For the word of God will never fail”. Or in other translations, “For nothing will be impossible with God”. And then Mary responds with these words, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true”. She was available and willing to be used by God in whatever way possible. From here we see Mary visit Elizabeth. And as she entered and greeted Elizabeth, just the meer sound of Mary’s voice caused the baby in Elizabeth to leap. And Elizabeth recognized the importance of what was going on inside of Mary and she cry’s out to Mary that she’s so excited that the mother of her Lord has come to visit her. You see Elizabeth has gotten it. She has recognized and has experienced this excitement and anticipation of Jesus.

This brings us to our passage this morning. Where we see Mary responding to all of this taking place. And I want us to spend the rest of our time this morning looking a Mary’s response to what is taking place in her life and her outlook on it. And what I hope we leave here with on the first Sunday of Advent is a new look at this season. says - 46 Mary responded,

46 Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.

47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,

and from now on all generations will call me blessed.

49 For the Mighty One is holy,

and he has done great things for me.

50 He shows mercy from generation to generation

to all who fear him.

51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things!

He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.

52 He has brought down princes from their thrones

and exalted the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things

and sent the rich away with empty hands.

54 He has helped his servant Israel

and remembered to be merciful.

55 For he made this promise to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his children forever.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

This morning friends, as we consider the anticipation and hope that is packed into this season and how we can refocus and get ourselves in a position where we can really celebrate this season and get ourselves into a position where we can be truly excited and ready for what is to come. I have 5 postures or thinks that I think we should consider from Mary’s song of praise that I think we can take into this season. And what I’m committing myself to as I get myself out of my grinchness and into celebration and anticipation mode.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

Praise Verses

1. Mary begins her song in a way that is fitting and really how we should all be entering into this Christmas season. She starts with the words, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”. We find that right away that Mary acknowledges the goodness of the Lord and brings attention to him at the start. Her soul praises or glorifies the Lord. And then she does a most profound thing. She does what each of us must do. She recognizes her need for a Savior. She knew she needed a Savior! This right here is huge, because it tells us that Mary understood that she was someone who was in need of a Savior. Some groups elevate Mary to be a deity in her own right, like they bring her up to the same level as God and Jesus, but what Mary is saying herself is so against this.

The reality is that only sinners need a Savior, and Mary is saying that she is someone who is rejoicing and in need of the hero to come and save her.

And I realize that as we wait in anticipation for Christmas it is fitting that this would serve as the beginning of our outlook on this season. That we would realize that the reason that we celebrate this time of the year, the reason we can be excited about it, is that it all revolves around our need for a Savior. And God’s amazing and gracious act in where he sent his Son to earth for us. There is our Hope on the first Sunday of Advent.

Billy Graham shares an incredible note on hope. He says, “Our world today so desperately hungers for hope, yet uncounted people have almost given up. There is despair and hopelessness on every hand. Let us be faithful in proclaiming the hope that is in Jesus.”

In a world that is lacking hope and anticipation of something positive this is just what we need to have in our ears. That no matter what my skewed vision of this season is that the reality is that I need to tap into my child like wonder and excitement and realize that this is all about my Savior. The hope, the grace, the redemption that I that we get in and through Jesus. Folks that is how we need to being this Christmas season.

Billy Graham shares an incredible note on hope. He says, “Our world today so desperately hungers for hope, yet uncounted people have almost given up. There is despair and hopelessness on every hand. Let us be faithful in proclaiming the hope that is in Jesus.”

2. Mary then goes on to humbly acknowledge her position in relation to God and points out that God called her, someone who was lowly in position essentially into the spotlight. She was a nobody who became a somebody because God put her there. And she’s knows that it is because of this that she will have an impact on the world because of all that God is doing through her life. Mary shouldn’t be remembered because of who she was but because of who God is and his ability to use her life in an incredible way for his glory.

Mary shouldn’t be remembered because of who she was but because of who God is. And again this is something that we need to remind ourselves of as we go into this season. We are redeemed, we are blessed not because of what we’ve done or who we are. But ultimately because of who God is and what he has done in our lives. The reality is is that God has called us who to himself and we have the ability to make a difference in this world because of that.

And again this is something that we need to remind ourselves of as we go into this season, this is more of the hope that we get through this season. We are redeemed, we are blessed not because of what we’ve done or who we are. But ultimately because of who God is and what he has done in our lives. The reality is, is that God has called us who believe to himself and we have the ability to make a difference in this world because of that. As we look to embrace this anticipation of this season I truly think that God is asking each of us to consider what he might be asking us to do in this world, for his glory, and for us to understand that God can uses these moments to affect eternity.

And I honestly believe that a right response to something like this is to look around and take stock of needs in our community that we could help fill. This time of year there are people we can help our, people we can share the love of God with. There are food banks that are looking for donations, there are feeding programs that are looking for people to hand out food to those who are needy, there are programs where toys can be given to kids to brighten their outlook on life and for them to receive things during this time of year. Guys this might be a point where I think we need to really consider asking God how can you use a lowly person like me in Sicamous to serve those around me for your glory.

The bible tells us in , “10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

3. Mary’s song then goes on to say that the Might One that is holy, set apart, has done great things for her. What I find striking here is that Mary knows that she doesn’t have anything to fear in any of this because God is all mighty and powerful and is able to take care of her. And she recognizes that God has already done great things for her in her life. Mary is speaking from an honest place where she is taking time to consider moments where God has shown up and stepped into her story, into her life, into her situations. And she is speaking from a place where God has made himself known to her.

This is another posture or place that I think we should spend time in as we anticipate and look forward to this season. Spending time considering all that God has done in our lives. Thinking through how and when God has shown up. Folks as we anticipate and remember the birth of Jesus lets spend time thinking about how he has already shown up in incredible ways in our lives. How our God has stepped into our moments of pain and sorrow, hurts and disappointments, joys and victories. God is present and is taking care of us in each of those moments and so we should spend time remembering these this season. I bet you that as you do this this will increase our anticipation it will increase our excitement and joy this season.

I know as I look back at my life I’ve seen God make things happen and put me in situations that I’ve never dreamed possible, where he makes the seemingly impossible possible. Just being here is a gift from God that I wouldn’t have imagined 5 years ago. But I was able to see God open doors, get things approved, and make a way for us to be able to live and serve here in Sicamous. And I’m able to thank God for this great thing that he has done in my life. And we are reminded time and time again in scripture that God can make things that seem impossible to us possible, that he can make things happen. As we go through our daily struggles, we sometimes think that certain situations are simply impossible, we are sometimes even told by people that there is no way that what we need to happen can happen. But I want you to know today that God can make the impossible possible.

He says in “26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”” And this is so true.

4. As we continue on in this passage Mary begins to talk about God’s mercy and how he has shown mercy throughout the ages. Mary shows herself to be a bit of bible scholar in that she knows the OT scriptures and is able to recognize what is taking place in her life and through her will result in God’s mercy being continually shown well into the future. That God would show forgiveness for a sinner like her and she understands the Gospel that the response that is needed is to know and understand that God is in control and that he does that for us. The fear that I think she is talking about is a righteous fear where she understands that God is in control and that she needs to trust and allow God to work in her life.

Its like the “fear” that a child has for their parent. As a kid I had a healthy fear of my parents. I know they love me. But I also know that if I stepped out of line that I’d get smacks, licks, not sure what they call it here. But I was still in that generation where it was totally acceptable for us to get smacks when we did something wrong. But that didn’t change how much my mom loved me, she still made sure that I was taken care of and that I was protected, but I was corrected when I was in the wrong.

I think the take away from this for us in this season of advent is that we are to also spend time thinking about how great God is and how merciful he is. You know what the reality is is that it is only us and God who know what takes place at all times in our lives. God knows our movements, our thoughts, our actions. And knowing that we are all sinners who are in need of a saviour we know intimately that God is incredibly merciful to us. We know we don’t deserve his forgiveness, because we go through this rhythm with God all the time. We ask him to forgive us then we go out and do something else that we need forgiveness for. But you know what God is merciful and he continues to forgive us. That is amazing. And something that we should spend time considering as we anticipate and look forward to this season.

5. Lastly, we see in verse 53 Mary says that God has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. What does she mean by this cryptic statement? Firstly, we get and idea from Mary that God will take care of the needs of those who need it. And with this it is a realization that God might be taking care of us in ways that we might not realize. Sometimes we have wants that we disguise as needs and we are like God your not taking care of me, and we neglect seeing that God is actually meeting our needs just not giving us our wants. God will fill those who are hungry.

What I also think that Mary is alluding to is that if we come hungry to God in Spirit; to know more about him, if we want God to guide us that God will do just that. The reality is that often those who are in need are the most spiritually sensitive to God and are gifted with faith in him. The bible reminds us in in the Beatitudes that, “6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.”

for they will be satisfied.

I truly believe for us as we get ready for this season that we must be come into this time hungry for God. To look toward this season and really look at how we can grow in Spirit. You see when we go to God with open hands and ask him to fill us, to grow us he will do it. And this is one of the best times of the year, as everything points to the celebration of Jesus for us to spend time growing in our faith. One of the things that I’m committing to, and I’m going to encourage our staff team to do it too. And I would encourage you to do it with me, is to spend the next 24 days. From now until Christmas Eve, reading 1 chapter of the book of Luke. There’s only 24 chapters and they aren’t super long but this would give us all a chance to spend the next 24 days putting in our minds and spirits words on the life of Jesus. And at the end of this time we will have looked at the birth, life and ministry and the death and resurrection of Jesus. Wouldn’t that be a great way to grow in Spirit and to satisfy a hunger to grow in our faith.

Conclusion

* 5:6 Or for righteousness.

As we finish up our time together this morning. Mary, to mother of Jesus, has shown us how we can amp up our anticipation, hope and desire as she shared her enthusiasm for what was to come. She literally carried our Savior in her womb and she had some insight into what was to come. In this she shares some great encouragement for us this morning for this season. And I want us to really consider the words and guidance that we get from this passage this morning.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

That we are to spend time over the next few weeks:

Recognizing that we need a Savior.

We are blessed, not because of what we’ve done, but because of who God is.

Considering all that God as done for us.

Remembering that God is merciful to us.

God satisfies our spiritual hunger.

And I think if we can do this our time over this season will be amazing. We will come into this season with a perspective that we are truly anticipating the greatest gift we have and will ever receive.

Let’s Pray.