Praise the Greatness of Our God
Notes
Transcript
Praise the Greatness of our God
Praise the Greatness of our God
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
Mary, the mother of our Lord, starts singing a song of praise after hearing the greeting from Elizabeth. This was not a high time in the life of Mary. She is pregnant without being married which during this time was a death sentence. No one believes this is really the Son of God. Why would they? Mary is from Galilee. Galilee is a political hot spot known for it’s violence. It has been written that Galileans were born to fight or start a fight. This is why Jesus’ teaching of turning the other cheek and love your enemies were so counter-cultural. If it was really time for the Messiah to come, God would pick someone from Jerusalem. Someone who had it all together. At least it would look like it from the outside. But God did not choose someone from Jerusalem or from a neighboring town. He choose someone from over 80 miles away.
Living in what was considered the fringes of Jewish society. He choose Mary.
Mary had it all together on the inside. Where it counted. She loved the Lord. God noticed and she was highly favoured.
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,
Mary needed to get away from the pressure. The gossip. The rumors. The harassment. She needed a place to be safe so she rushed to her cousin Elizabeth. No matter what we are going through, the Lord deserves our praise and worship no matter what. Especially during the hard times. During the times of pain, fear, or doubt. This is when we demonstrate our faith.
1 I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Mary experienced a breath of fresh air when she went to the house of her cousin. She experienced a blessing. She found a refuge. In that moment, she could turn her fear and trembling s to joy and praise. What does this mean to us today? How does a song from a Jewish young woman speak to us today? After all this was over 2,000 years ago? It speaks everything. We can identify with her fear. There is so much fear in the world today.
Fear over our future.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Fear over our economy.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Fear over our country.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Once we see our own fears and concerns, we identify with Mary and look at this portion of scripture differently.
46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.”
Dedication of Judah Liam Stevens
What is a dedication?
This is the dedication of Judah Liam Stevens.
22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord
This is not salvation. Judah will need to make that decision once he reaches the age of accountability. This is Brandon and Shiloh giving him back to the Lord. But it is more than that. It is the public declaration of Brandon and Shiloh internationally pursing the heart of God for the wisdom and guidance to raise Judah to train and instruct him in the Lord.
Introduce the family:
Why do you want to dedicate Judah?
Video
Commitment from parents
Brandon:
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.
Brandon, you have a great responsibility ahead of you. Enoch realized after the birth of Methuselah that he needed a close relationship with the Lord. Brandon, you need a close relationship with the Lord. You need His wisdom and guidance. There are going to be times when you will need to make hard and unpopular choices, but they will be the correct ones. Brandon, do you commit to loving Judah, praying for Judah, and teaching Judah the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Shiloh:
4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
This is the heartbeat of every mother. You will have times of joys and times of tears. Being a godly mom is not an easy path. There will be times when you be pleading the name of Jesus over him and other times you will want to wring his neck. Make 3 John 4 your prayer to see accomplished in the life of Judah.
Shiloh, do you commit to loving Judah, praying for Judah, teaching Judah the gospel of Jesus Christ?
congregation
It takes a whole church to raise a child. Brandon and Shiloh are the parents, but we, as a body of believers and the church family at Northside Assembly, have a vested interest in Judah making that commitment to the Lord. Whether it is through Sunday School, Kids Church, Youth Group, or a part of the body letting Judah know he is important to us, but much more important to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.