Christ Our King is Worthy to be Praised

Christ Our King Is Worthy of Praise

Luke 1:39-56

Advent 2021

Hopewell Baptist Church

December 12, 2021

Opening Illustration – The definition of “Praise” is “the act of expressing approval or admiration; commendation” to a person, thing, etc.

The definition of “Worship” i s”reverent honor and homage paid to God; formal or ceremonial rendering of such honor and homage” to God.

Today, we are looking at giving God the praise due His name, and what that means in our lives.

Transition – As we look at the coming birth of Christ as foretold throughout the Old Testament, and most recently in Luke 1:26-38, we see the coming King and His praiseworthy deeds of Old, and also knowing that His yet not done work as the Incarnate Christ are all worthy of praise.

Big Idea – Christ our King is worthy of our praise.

Luke 1:39–56 (ESV)

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on 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 for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;

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 offspring forever.” 56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Pray

I. If you’re right before God, you will naturally praise God

a. Mary, Elizabeth, and even the unborn John the Baptist were in right positions before God

b. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 will naturally flow out of being right before God.

II. If you are praising God, you will be humble before God

a. Elizabeth, who was considered barren (Luke 1:36) became pregnant!

b. Mary, who was a virgin, was carting the Son of God in her womb! (and yes, Mary did know!)

c. Neither Elizabeth nor Mary became prideful or anything, but they stayed humble and pointed to Jesus

i. They knew it was all about God and not themselves.

ii. Philippians 2:13

III. If you are humbly praising God, you will be thankful to God in all things.

a. You will be thankful in all things because you know that God uses all things, good and bad, to his glory and our good.

i. Romans 8:28

ii. John 9:1-3 – the man born blind

IV. Because Christ our King is worthy of our praise...

Christians must be in a right position with God to be able to properly give Him the praise that He is due!

a. Evaluate Your Fruit

i. Good Fruit vs. Bad Fruit

1. Galatians 5:22-23 (good fruit)

2. Galatians 5:19-21 (bad fruit)

ii. Good fruit pours out into praise towards God

1. Luke 6:45 – “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

iii. How do others see the fruit in your life?

1. Do they see the sin in your life or the godliness in your life? The good fruit of the Spirit or the bad fruit of the flesh?

iv. Evaluating ourselves before God should bring us to a place of humility before God, calling out to God for His help, as we cannot do this on our own! And as we are doing this, as we are calling out to the Lord and we are evaluating the fruits in our lives, we must…(Prepare our hearts)…

b. Prepare Your Hearts

i. As we go forward this Advent Season, make sure we are preparing our hearts by spending time in the Word and in prayer to make sure our hearts are in a place to praise the Lord.

1. Matthew 6:33 – “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, …”

2. 2 Corinthians 10:5 – “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raises against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,…”

3. Matthew 22:37-40 – “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind….You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

ii. For many, this is all on the forefront of our minds because we are celebrating the extraordinary act of love of God towards His people, the “gift” of His Son, Jesus. But this ought to be on the forefront of our minds all year long, every day, that we are living right before God because of this gift, because of the Romans 5:8 love that God has shown us through the death of His Son on the cross.

c. Respond to the call of the Gospel on your life

a. Belief (new believers)

i. Repent and believe

b. Repentance (current believers)

i. Of sin

c. Obedience

i. Baptism

ii. Membership

d. Surrender

i. Vocation

ii. Volunteer

Christ Out King is Worthy of our Praise