Great Joy: Magnify the Messiah

 

Great Joy

Introduction:

Good morning Eastern Shore Baptist family. I can finally say “Merry Christmas” to all of you. I do hope that all of you had a tremendous Thanksgiving. Before I introduce this new Christmas series this morning, I want to tell you about this n new Advent devotional book that I have written for all of you. The devotional starts on November 30th and goes through Christmas Day. There is a devotional for each day of the Advent. The books are in the foyers of the church, they are absolutely free, and they are great for kids and adults alike. Moms and Dads, I wrote this devotional with you and your kids in mind. I wanted something that you could sit down with your children, read together, pray, and hopefully center your Christmas around Jesus Christ. Each devotional starts with Scripture and ends with prayer. I’m really proud of it and I hope that you’ll enjoy it. I also want to thank LeAnn Gentry. LeAnn helped me design, publish, print, and assemble each devotional. She also did all the illustrations for the book. So thank you LeAnn. 

Now, on to this new Christmas series…it is entitled “Great Joy”. This series will go through the month of December. 

When you think about Christmas, what comes to your mind? 

I love this time of year. I love this season. For one, this time of year brings back a lot of nostalgic memories. I can remember as a kid making that hour and fifteen minute drive from Montgomery to Birmingham to go shopping at the Galleria Mall with my family. This was back with the Galleria was new. The mall was filled with busy stores. I remember being engrossed with all the decorations. 

I think about all the times that my parents took me and my brother to get our picture taken with Santa Claus. Now I have memories of taking my children to get their pictures taken with Santa. 

Naturally I think about all the presents. After all, who doesn’t love a good present. I remember those early mornings, waking up my brother, and walking into our den to find all of our gifts laid out. 

What about the food? I love holiday food. Turkey. Ham. Haystacks. The casseroles. Come on folks…the casseroles. 

Green bean. 

Sweet potato. 

And my favorite of all the casseroles…Hashbrown!

Then there are the parties. All the parties. Family parties. Church parties. Sunday School parties. Work parties. 

Parties parties parties. 

Then there is the calendaring and the scheduling. That is the part that I least like. Trying to keep it all straight. 

While there are a lot of positive things to think about and remember when it comes to Christmas, for some, Christmas is a reminder of what once was. What used to be but no longer is. Christmas is a time of sadness for many of us. That empty seat at the table. The memories of days gone by, people that we miss, loved ones whose presence we long to renew. Christmas may be a time of hopefulness, and it is, but for many of us, some in this room right now, Christmas hurts. 

So, what comes to mind when you think about Christmas? Did you notice one thing that I didn’t say in regards to Christmas? Did you notice one name that never came up? One person that never surfaced?

Correct! What about Jesus? Shouldn’t Jesus be our first thought. Our culture has turned this glorious season into a commercialized catastrophe. A materialistic mess. Our culture has successfully figured out a way to divert our eyes away from the arrival of the Savior. Instead of magnifying King Jesus, we have turned Christmas into a time of self glorification. 

“Give me this.”

“I want that.”

“You’ll shoot your eye out kid.”

Well, my hope that with today’s message and with the help of my little Advent devotional, you and your family will be able to Magnify the Messiah instead of missing the mark this Christmas. 

In fact, that is the title of my message this morning. “Magnify the Messiah”! 

Today’s Message:

“Magnify The Messiah”

Background and Context:

Do me a favor friends and open your Bibles to Luke 1. This morning we are reading verses 46-54. The first chapter of Luke’s Gospel is pretty exciting. It starts with a short greeting from Luke to his pal Theophilus, a name that means “Lover of God”. 

After the greeting we are introduced to Gabriel, the angel of the Lord. Gabriel was God’s Holy messaging service to several people starting with the priest Zachariah. Gabriel appears in Jerusalem to inform Zachariah that he and his wife Elizabeth will be having a child. Now this is a tall order, difficult to believe. You see Zachariah and Elizabeth were both were “along in years”. I didn’t say it, Scripture does. They were both super old. Way too old to have children. Making matters worse, Elizabeth was never able to conceive, a scarlet letter that she was forced to wear her entire life. Zachariah questions Gabriel’s message, doubting God’s ability to do this promised thing. Gabriel reaffirms that John will indeed be a Father. Because Zachariah doubts God’s promise, Gabriel removes Zachariah’s ability to speak until his one and only son is born. 

This is how the Christmas story starts. 

Fast forward a 6 months. We are no longer in Jerusalem. We have now moved to Nazareth. Nazareth is about 70 miles away from Jerusalem, about a 3 to 4 day journey by foot. Gabriel, God’s Holy messaging service shows back up. This time Gabriel is not visiting a priest, or someone powerful. He is visiting a teenage girl. Zachariah was a “somebody”. He was a public figure. This girl was a no body. She was not royalty, not a princess, no beauty queen. Just an ordinary girl who was already promised to be married to a man named Joseph. For the record, Joseph was nobody special either. A simple carpenter and stone mason by trade. Gabriel shows up and delivers to Mary the news that she will become pregnant, “overshadowed by the Holy Spirit”, and she will give birth to a child…a boy…and His name will be Jesus. 

Luke 1:32-33 CSB

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. [33] He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end." 

First Gabriel visits a family who is too old to have a child and now the angel is visiting a someone to young to have a child. 

Both parties completely unprepared for the role that they have been thrust into. 

Both parties struggling with fear, uncertainty, and doubt. 

Both parties relenting to God’s plan, submitting to His will. 

Now the Christmas story is off and running. 

Mary, after receiving the message, heads to visit Zachariah and Elizabeth. Elizabeth is Mary’s first cousin. Remember, to be unwed and sexually immoral in this world was dangerous. Mary, even though you and I know that she was innocent, appeared to be guilty. She was promised to Joseph but pregnant by what appeared to be someone other than Joseph. Sexual immorality, while celebrated and hailed in our culture, was seen rightfully as wicked and evil in the days of the Old Testament. The sexually immoral could be stoned or exiled. Talk about harsh. Well those were the rules back then. 

Just look up Deuteronomy 22:23-34. 

If a betrothed woman committed adultery with another man, both were to be stoned.

There there is Leviticus 20:10. 

Adultery was punishable by death for both parties. 

Then you have Deuteronomy 24:1-4 which talks about the seriousness of marriage, the covenant between a man and a woman, and how these bonds are not easily broken. 

While we do not know who Mary’s parents are, it is safe to assume that they are wanting her to get out of town. So, it is implied in Scripture that Mary’s family sends her away for her own good, for her own safety. Again, while not in Scripture, if is safe to assume that young Mary went to her parents, confessed her angelic experience. Her mother, knowing that they have a priest in the family most likely either sent word or personally visited Zachariah and Elizabeth seeking advise. Elizabeth after hearing the testimony confesses that she too has been visited by this angelic messenger. The dots are now connected. 

Again, this is not in Scripture but it is not a stretch to think that some sort of scenario occurred. 

Mary needed a safe place to stay. Since Zachariah and Elizabeth were experiencing a similar miracle, this made the most sense. When Mary arrives, she is greeted by her cousin. Again, Elizabeth is now 6 months into her pregnancy with John. When Mary greets Elizabeth, we see the following interaction, 

Luke 1:41-45 CSB

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. [42] Then she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! [43] How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44] For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. [45] Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!"

This brings me to the Scripture that we are about to read in just a moment. Verses 46-55. Mary praises the Lord. Mary is safe. She is secure. She is loved and cherished. Her miracle is confirmed. Can you imagine how thankful she must have been in this moment? When you hear the song that she sings, you can hear the fear melting away. God has taken care of her. He has provided for her and for His Son. It really is a beautiful thing that two of the central characters in the story thus far are not Zachariah and Elizabeth. It is not Mary or Gabriel. Two of the central characters thus far in the Christmas story are a fetus and an embryo. John, in the fetal stage of development, leaps in his mother’s womb because he is in the presence of Jesus, in the embryonic stage of development. Luke 1 is so important because is shows that these two women are carrying life! Human life! Valuable life! Life that was and should be protected and cherished. 

Do me a favor, fill in the blanks under “Today’s Thought”. 

Mary received God’s mercy, sang of His majesty, and celebrated His mighty works. 

Today’s Thought:

Mary Received God’s Mercy, Sang of His Majesty, and Celebrated His Mighty Works!

You know friends, one of my favorite preachers is former Bellevue Baptist Church pastor Dr. Adrian Rogers. Dr. Rogers has gone to glory but the impact of his ministry is still seen even today. In a book dedicated to him called “The Wit and Wisdom of Adrian Rogers”, Adrian Rogers talks about how God often uses ordinary people, people like Mary, like Elizabeth, like me and you to do extraordinary things. Listen to this powerful quote…

Today’s Quote:

“God specializes in taking ordinary people with ordinary abilities and using them to do extraordinary things for His glory. He is not searching for the polished or powerful, but for the person willing to place their life in His hands. Give God your weakness and He will give you His strength. Offer Him your smallness and He will display His greatness. He delights to use the humble and the unnoticed so that all the glory goes to Him alone.”

-Rev. Adrian Rogers from “The Wit and Wisdom of Adrian Rogers”

Friends, again…turn in your Bibles to Luke 1:46-54. As you turn there, let me remind you that…

Statement of Faith:

“We are opening the living and powerful Word of God…truth without error, breathed out by Him, and fully sufficient for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. It is our authority, our guide, and our hope. In honor of the God who gave us His perfect Word, I invite you to stand with me as we read it together.”

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 1:46-55 CSB

And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, [47] and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, [48] because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, [49] because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy. [50] His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. [51] He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; [52] he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. [53] He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy [55] to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors.

Pastor: “This is the Word of the Lord.”

Congregation: “Praise His name. Praise His Holy name.”

What Can We Learn From Mary’s Worship?

I. Mary’s Perspective vs. 46-49

So friends, what can we learn from Mary’s worship. Three simple short points this morning. Fill in the first blank for me this morning. Let’s look at Mary’s perspective. Go back to verse 48 this morning. 

“he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant.”

“He has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant.”

The humble condition? We will talk about that in just a second. Mary’s humble condition. 

You see there for you on your outline the explanation of our first point this morning. 

“Mary magnifies the Lord because she sees herself rightly, small and needy, and sees God rightly, great and mighty.”

What is Mary talking about when she mentions her “humble condition”?

There are some religious Christians in the world who believe that Mary was perfect. Sinless. Spotless. These Christians claim that in order for Jesus to have been sinless and perfect, Mary herself had to be perfect too. Not only is this not true, Mary even declares that she too needs a Savior. 

We just read a moment ago in verse 47 where Mary explicitly states, “My spirit rejoices in God MY SAVIOR.” Why does someone who is supposedly perfect need a Savior?

We also know what the Bible teaches about sin. That none are righteous, no not one in Romans 3:10. All have sinned and fallen short in Romans 3:23 and surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins in Ecclesiastes 7:20. 

Mary, while certainly unique and special, knew that she was not perfect. Again, go back to that phrase “humble condition”. 

“He has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant.”

“Humble condition” in the Greek is pronounced ταπείνωσις and is pronounced tah-PAY-no-sis. The word describes a state of lowness, humiliation or smallness. 

Now friends, I don’t want you to hear me and think that Mary was somehow putting herself down. She wasn’t. Mary is looking at herself rightly in comparison to the greatness, the holiness, and the perfection of God. Even the most beautiful person on earth cannot compare to God’s beauty. God’s value is exponentially greater than the value of all the money, all the jewels, and all of earth’s most amazing treasures. God’s creativity is without comparison. His might cannot be quantified. In the Apostle John’s Revelation, Scripture teaches that at the end of days Satan will rally the nations and gather the full military strength of the world against God. The kings of the earth and their armies will unite under the antichrist, marching with confidence and blinded by pride. They will come to the battlefield convinced that victory is within their grasp, boasting in their power and displaying all the weaponry the world can offer.

But the battle will not unfold as they expect. Revelation says that when Christ appears, He will not need tanks or missiles or earthly might. He will not fire a single shot. With the sword of His mouth, the power of His spoken word, He will bring their rebellion to an instant end. The armies of the world will fall in a moment and the victory of Christ will be complete and uncontested.

Now let’s swing back to Mary. She speaks of her humble condition, she is not wallowing in shame or insecurity. She is lifting her eyes and saying, God, compared to You, I am small, but You have seen me. I am ordinary, but You have chosen me. I am needy, but You have supplied my every need. That is why her soul sings in worship. She is overwhelmed that the God who is high and holy would stoop low and draw near to someone like her.

If Mary saw herself rightly before God, then so should we. We live in a world that constantly tells us to think highly of ourselves, to inflate our worth, to trust our strength, to look in the mirror and say we are enough. Mary reminds us that true worship begins when we stop trying to make much of ourselves and start making much of Him.

Mary magnifies the Lord because she knows who she is and she knows who He is. She is the servant, He is the Sovereign. She is low, He is lifted high. She is needy, He is all sufficient. She is small, but He is great. That is why her life becomes a spotlight, beaming on God. She does not shine herself, she reflects the One who shines through her.

So what should our perspective be now that we see Mary’s? It should be the same joyful humility that says, God, I bring You nothing but my need, and You give me everything in Your grace. God, I come low, because You alone deserve to be lifted high. God, I decrease, so that You may increase. When our hearts bend that low, our worship rises that high.

This is why the psalmist invites us in Psalm 34: 3 ESV, “Oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.” That is Mary’s cry and it should be ours. Magnify the Lord. Lift up His name. Make His greatness the theme of your song and the center of your story.

What Can We Learn From Mary’s Worship?

I. Mary’s Perspective vs. 46-49

II. Mary’s Praise vs. 50-53

So, what can we learn from Mary’s worship? Well we can can learn a lot about Mary’s perspective. Next, our second point this morning, is Mary’s praise. Go back to verses 50-53. 

“His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.”

Simply put…

“Mary celebrates the mercy and might of God who overturns human pride and lifts up the humble.”

Isn’t God amazing folks? God does such amazing, astounding, astonishing things with some of the most unlikely things and unlikely people. 

God used child’s sling to bring down earth’s mightiest warrior. 

God used a shepherd’s staff to topple earth’s mightiest country. 

God used the jawbone of a donkey to defeat a thousand of Samson’s enemies. 

God used a handful of flour and oil to sustain a prophet. 

He used mud to bring sight to a blind man. 

God used a simple lunch of fish and bread from a child to feed thousands. 

What about people? Obviously God can use all sorts of things to do His work, but what kind of people can He use to bring about His will?

He used shepherds to lead nations, to write Scripture, to announce the brith of the Messiah, to lead His people. 

He used farmers to be prophets and leaders. He used fisherman as apostles, preachers, teachers. A tentmaker wrote a quarter of the New Testament. God used prisoners, soldiers, widows, homemakers, bakers and butlers. 

God used a man, crucified between two thieves to save all that would come to Him. 

God used a young girl to bring the Savior of the World into this dark, sinful, pain filled world. 

Mary’s praise of God was centered on the fact that God would take such ordinary people, ordinary things, people like her, and do extraordinary things.

God chose to adopt the smallest nation as His own. He would do mighty and awesome works through Israel. The world would look at the Hebrews and see nothing special. The world would not see military might or genius strategy. No one would give glory to Israel for all of their victories. No, the glory would go to God for how He would work through them. 

Take Gideon, for instance. Gideon started with thirty two thousand men, but God whittled that army all the way down to three hundred. Three hundred men armed with nothing but pitchers, torches, and trumpets. Why? So that when the Midianites fell, no one would say, Look what Gideon did. They would say, Look what God did.

Or consider David. Israel had battle hardened soldiers, men who wore armor and wielded swords, but God passed them over and went out to the pasture to find a shepherd boy. A boy with a slingshot was chosen to humble a giant who terrified a nation. Why? So that the victory belonged to the Lord, not to human skill or strength.

And think about the twelve disciples. Jesus did not recruit theologians from Jerusalem or philosophers from Athens. He chose fishermen, a tax collector, and ordinary working men from Galilee. The world saw them as unremarkable. But God used those men to carry the gospel across continents and turn the world upside down. Why? So that when the church exploded with power, no one would praise the disciples. They would praise the Savior who worked through them.

God delights in taking the small, the simple, the overlooked, and the ordinary, and filling them with His power so that all glory goes to Him alone.

I love what Psalm 103:17 says…

Psalm 103:17 CSB

“But from eternity to eternity the Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear him, and his righteousness toward the grandchildren of those who keep his covenant.”

Mary sees a God who flips the world’s values on their heads, a God who feeds the hungry with good things and sends the self satisfied away empty. Mary rejoices that the Holy One steps into history to rescue the humble and overthrow the proud, proving once again that He is faithful, He is righteous, and He is worthy of all our worship.

What Can We Learn From Mary’s Worship?

I. Mary’s Perspective vs. 46-49

II. Mary’s Praise vs. 50-53

III. Mary’s Promise vs. 54-55

Well folks, we have made it to our last point this morning. We have seen Mary’s perspective, we have seen her praise, and now we see Mary’s promise. Go back to verses 54 and 55 this morning. 

“He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors.”

There on your outline, you’ll see that…

“Mary rejoices in the faithful God who keeps His covenant and fulfills His promises to His people.”

When Mary’s life is interrupted by Gabriel, the very first thing he speaks to her is “Fear not”. Some of your translations will say “Mary, do not be afraid”. Regardless of what translation you are using, the sentiment is the same. 

When you are in the presence of the Most High God, you have nothing to fear. 

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” 

Mary at the point when she praises the Lord is leaning her faith. She is depending on her belief that God is not going to leave her, abandon her, forsake her. She looks back at the stories of her youth, the stories of how God showed up big for the Hebrews. She leans on the stories that were told to her about Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob. God was there, He made promises. He stood in the gap. He protected and provided. God overcame the odds. This is the God of the underdog and the overwhelmed. The God that burns in the bush, the God who brings water from the rock, the God who overcomes mighty armies, the God of the Ark of the Covenant, the God of the Tabernacle. 

Don’t you think that Mary is scared, nervous, unsure? I imagine that anyone would be. So what do we do? What did she do? She remembered all the tales of God, when God came to the rescue. If the same God that rescued the Hebrews, that rescued Abraham, the God of her ancestors…if He was there for them…He would be there for her. 

He will be there for you too friends. 

Do you know how many times the phrase “fear not” or “don’t be afraid” are in the Bible?

Scholors and theologians say that that phrase is said across translations some 365 times. That’s a fear not for everyday of the year. 

The command is one of the most repeated messages in Scripture. God consistently tells His people not to fear because of His presence, His power, and His promises.

Speaking of promises. Do you know how many promises there are in the Bible?

There is some 8,810 promises in Scripture, 7487 of those are promises God made to us, His children. That’s a lot of fear nots and a lot of promises. 

Mary believed God’s promises. She did? Do you?

Church family, we can trust the promises of God because they simply do not fail. Every promise He speaks carries the weight of His character. People may lie, people may break their word, people may forget what they said, but not our God. 

When He promises, He performs. 

When He speaks, He stands behind it with all of His sovereignty and all of His faithfulness. 

When He declares, He delivers.

When He commits, He completes.

When He sends His word, it succeeds in the very thing for which He sent it.

When He sets His will, no power in heaven or on earth can overturn it.

When He swears by Himself, His oath is as unshakeable as His throne.

When He gives His word, He guards His word.

When He whispers hope, that hope will come to pass in His perfect timing.

When He calls something finished, it is finished indeed.

When He establishes a promise, not one line, not one letter, not one detail will fall to the ground.

When He binds Himself to His people, He remains bound with everlasting love.

Mary could praise Him in Luke 1 because she knew that the God who promised Abraham was the same God keeping His word in her womb. She knew His mercy had not run dry, His covenant had not weakened, and His commitment to His people had not faded. The same is true for us today. Heaven and earth may pass away, kingdoms may rise and fall, circumstances may change like shifting shadows, but the promises of God remain steady, strong, and sure. We can stake our lives on them because the God who made them has never failed and never will.

Friends, I love what Joshua 21:45 says…

Joshua 21:45 NASB

“Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. All came to pass.”

Remember friends, we can learn a lot from Mary’s worship. We can learn a new perspective, how we see our selves in relationship to God. We can learn a lot about praise, praising God, thanking Him for using the small, insignificant things and seemingly weak people of the world to shame the powerful and strong. We can learn a lot about Mary’s promise. More likely, God’s promise to Mary and God’s promises to us. God never brakes His promises. Ever. Never ever. 

Remember brothers and sisters, Christmas Isn’t about Presents. It’s about a promise kept. 

Christmas Isn’t About Presents. It’s About A Promise Kept!

Closing Prayer:

Let’s bow our heads and lift our hearts to the Lord.

Father, thank You that You look upon the humble, that You lift up the lowly, and that Your mercy stretches from generation to generation. We thank You that Your promises have never failed.

Lord, I pray for the one here today who needs Jesus. The one who needs a Savior just like Mary did. Draw them to Yourself. Let them know deep in their heart that Christ lived for them, died for them, rose again for them, and stands ready to save them right now. Give them the courage to step out and come. 

I pray also for those You are calling to join this church family. Father, if You are leading someone to become a part of Eastern Shore Baptist Church, give them a sweet peace and a willing heart. 

Lord, I pray for those who need to follow You in believer’s baptism. Give them boldness to obey. Let them take that next step of faith and declare publicly what You have already done inwardly.

Father, I lift up the believers in this room who need to confess sin, who need a fresh start, who need cleansing and renewal. You are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Let this invitation be a time of honesty, repentance, and freedom.

Move among us now Lord. Draw the lost. Strengthen the saved. Build Your church. May our souls magnify the Lord. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus. 

Amen.