1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,440 We are pleased that you're here today. 2 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:05,200 We welcome you in Christ's name. 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:10,280 Let's open our Bibles together as we study God's Word in the first chapter of the Gospel 4 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:16,720 of Luke entering into our Christmas series, a series that will focus on the songs of Christmas. 5 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:24,640 Yesterday, my wife and I were invited to a dress rehearsal actually for Black Nativity. 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,200 How many of you have ever gone to Black Nativity in St. Paul? 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:29,640 A few of you, only a few of you. 8 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:34,960 If you want to put a little bit of excitement in your Christmas season, buy a ticket to 9 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:35,960 the Black Nativity. 10 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,000 It is worth going to see. 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,520 It is the perspective of Africans on the birth of Jesus. 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:48,720 And they tell the story several times from different African cultures as well as from 13 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,520 the Afro-American perspective. 14 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:58,360 And it will set your feet at dancing as it did, as the announcement did to Mary as we're 15 00:00:58,360 --> 00:00:59,880 going to see this morning. 16 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:05,640 It's a wonderful occasion and it introduced us to the songs of Christmas as we've been 17 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,200 hearing also in the radio these days. 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:13,200 We're going to talk about the songs of Christmas in our Sunday morning series. 19 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:18,280 Today, the song of Mary, Mary's song of adoration. 20 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:25,120 We're going to begin reading in the 46th verse of Luke chapter 1. 21 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:34,320 And Mary said, My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 22 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:38,560 For he has had regard for the humble state of his bond-slave. 23 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:44,840 For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. 24 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:50,360 For the mighty one has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 25 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:57,440 And his mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear him. 26 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,120 He has done mighty deeds with his arm. 27 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,540 He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart. 28 00:02:05,540 --> 00:02:11,980 He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted those who were humble. 29 00:02:11,980 --> 00:02:18,240 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the rich empty-handed. 30 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:23,840 He has given help to Israel his servant in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our 31 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:29,760 fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever. 32 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:37,800 Mary spoke these words, usually called a song because they're in the form of a poem. 33 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:43,600 When she visited Elizabeth, her relative, Mary had already received the news from God 34 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:49,800 that she was the chosen vessel to be the one who would bring the Savior into the world 35 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,000 through a virgin birth. 36 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,900 She accepted that role from God, as we're going to see today. 37 00:02:56,900 --> 00:03:01,080 And then a few months later went to visit Elizabeth and her husband. 38 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,900 Elizabeth was also with child. 39 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:10,240 And Elizabeth made an exclamation as Mary came into her presence. 40 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:15,280 She says in verse 42, blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your 41 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:17,760 womb. 42 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:22,840 And how has it happened to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 43 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:28,840 For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb 44 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:30,320 for joy. 45 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:36,520 And blessed is she who has believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken 46 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,460 to her by the Lord. 47 00:03:39,460 --> 00:03:44,460 Those are the words of Elizabeth upon Mary's greeting and entrance into the room. 48 00:03:44,460 --> 00:03:49,640 And then Mary is the one who exclaims the words that we have read further regarding 49 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:51,000 her faith in the Lord. 50 00:03:51,000 --> 00:04:00,380 Mary is a remarkable example of one who surrendered by faith to God's plan for her life. 51 00:04:00,380 --> 00:04:07,800 We see this in her response in verse 38 when Mary said to the angel, behold the bond slave 52 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:12,800 of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word. 53 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,200 You see, she accepted the role that God gave to her. 54 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,360 And this was by faith that she did so. 55 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:28,240 As Elizabeth points out in verse 45, blessed is she who believed. 56 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:34,840 Mary is a remarkable example of a godly woman who surrendered by faith to God's plan for 57 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,320 her life. 58 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,800 That is the call of God to each one of us this morning. 59 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:47,760 That each one of us would come to understand God's plan for our lives. 60 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:54,600 And that we would then by faith surrender to the good, acceptable, and perfect will 61 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,880 of God for us. 62 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:06,800 Mary's faith gave her three vital perspectives that made her the woman of God that she was. 63 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:13,520 I want you to notice how her faith caused her to gain different perspectives. 64 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:19,840 First of all, how she saw herself, how she saw her God, and then finally how she saw 65 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:20,840 her times. 66 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:25,800 But let's think first about how Mary saw herself. 67 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,840 This is in verses 46 through the first part of verse 48. 68 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:35,080 How did Mary see herself because of her faith? 69 00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:41,240 First of all, she saw herself as a sinner, a sinner. 70 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:47,120 She calls the Lord God, my Savior. 71 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,200 Now the implication there is very clear. 72 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:56,440 That Mary recognized that she needed a Savior from her personal sin. 73 00:05:56,440 --> 00:06:03,960 Now I recognize that there are those who believe that Mary was born without sin, herself. 74 00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:12,160 And only in that way they reason, could Mary then have been the mother of the sinless Son 75 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,200 of God. 76 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:20,840 However, that idea flies in the face of what the Word of God clearly teaches, which is 77 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:27,800 that Mary knew that she was a sinner and that God was her Savior. 78 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:32,160 Because God had saved her, she magnifies the Lord. 79 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,400 That word exalts means to magnify the Lord. 80 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,960 That is, God had become large in her life. 81 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:45,640 God was not distant and far away from Mary, but God was very real to her. 82 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:50,400 She says, my soul magnifies the Lord. 83 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:55,960 And she says further that her spirit rejoices in God her Savior. 84 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,600 That word rejoice means to leap. 85 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:03,120 In fact, it means to leap very much. 86 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,800 The idea is to dance. 87 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:12,200 Mary is saying here, God has set my feet to dancing because of what He has done in my 88 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:13,960 life. 89 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:21,640 God had saved her and the joy of the Lord filled Mary's heart because of that. 90 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:27,600 Because God had saved her, nothing that He could ask of her would be too much. 91 00:07:27,600 --> 00:07:33,280 She would, in her heart, demanded surrender of her life to whatever His purpose would 92 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:34,280 be. 93 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:38,440 May I say to you the same is true of us? 94 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:48,320 That if God has saved you, if God has given you new life in His Son, Jesus Christ, then 95 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:53,320 out of the joy that is in your heart, may you surrender completely to Him. 96 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,920 Nothing that He could ask of you would be too much, would it? 97 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:02,080 That He has redeemed you from the judgment of your sin. 98 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:07,960 That He has rescued you from the eternity apart from God and hell. 99 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:12,360 Mary's feet were dancing because of what God had done for her, a sinner. 100 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:14,080 He had saved her. 101 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,640 But secondly, Mary saw herself as a servant. 102 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:24,280 I really prefer what some translations say, the handmaid of the Lord. 103 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:28,880 She refers to her humble estate in verse 48. 104 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:34,200 That humble estate reflects the poverty in which she had been raised. 105 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:41,760 It reflects her sense of a lack of credentials for what God had called her to do. 106 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,840 She did not feel worthy of this. 107 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:51,920 She saw herself as a servant of the Lord. 108 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,840 That God had had regard for her. 109 00:08:54,840 --> 00:09:02,560 God had looked upon her with favor and had chosen her actually because of her joyous 110 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:07,160 humility before God. 111 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:15,460 There's nothing like humility to attract God to you for His wonderful divine purpose. 112 00:09:15,460 --> 00:09:24,760 God saw in this marvelous, godly teenage girl a humble person and He selected her to be 113 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:30,080 the mother of the Savior. 114 00:09:30,080 --> 00:09:36,480 Peter reflects this very idea when he writes, humble yourselves therefore under the mighty 115 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:43,840 hand of God that He may exalt you in the proper time. 116 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:48,320 When you and I think ourselves worthy that somehow God is missing out if He doesn't 117 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:54,600 choose us, then we have disqualified ourselves really from being used. 118 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:59,280 But it is when there is a genuine humility and we sense ourselves unworthy of being used 119 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:06,320 by God that He joyously chooses us for marvelous purposes in life. 120 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:11,640 Mary was finding out what God's purpose was and by faith she had surrendered to that purpose. 121 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:16,840 And her faith had given her a right perspective on who she was. 122 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:23,960 She was a sinner who had now been saved and who was now called also by God to serve her 123 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:28,160 Lord in a very special way. 124 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:32,920 I hope that your faith has brought the same perspective to your life. 125 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:37,600 That God has saved you for a purpose. 126 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:46,360 That God has saved you that you might be His servant in some special way. 127 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:49,360 Well I noticed then a second perspective that came to Mary. 128 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:53,440 It was how Mary saw her Lord. 129 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:57,600 Not only how she saw herself, but her faith affected how she saw her Lord. 130 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:06,240 The last part of verse 48 up through verse 53. 131 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:11,500 I noticed first of all that she tells us the identity of her Lord. 132 00:11:11,500 --> 00:11:15,180 She calls Him the Mighty One. 133 00:11:15,180 --> 00:11:17,000 The Mighty One. 134 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:22,300 This One who was magnified in her life, this One who had become large, who had come near 135 00:11:22,300 --> 00:11:26,260 to her was the Mighty One. 136 00:11:26,260 --> 00:11:33,400 This name Mighty One is used elsewhere to describe God as able. 137 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:42,160 The One with whom all things are possible because He is the Mighty One. 138 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:49,200 It is a word that is also used to describe Jesus in Luke chapter 24 verse 19 when He 139 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:55,440 is called a prophet mighty in deed and word. 140 00:11:55,440 --> 00:12:02,960 When I see this name Mighty One, I'm reminded of that Old Testament name for God, El Shaddai. 141 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:07,640 Which is God Almighty. 142 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,400 It is used the first time in Genesis chapter 17. 143 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:13,800 We saw that in our study of Genesis. 144 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:21,640 In the larger context of the word, that name being used for the first time is the story 145 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:32,440 of another miraculous birth where El Shaddai promises to Abraham and to Sarah a son. 146 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:40,480 Abraham was 99 years old, beyond the point of being able to physically father a son. 147 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,640 But God says to him, Abraham, I am El Shaddai. 148 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:47,280 I am God Almighty. 149 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:50,280 I will give you a son. 150 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,520 And here we see Mary. 151 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:59,640 Unmarried, engaged to Joseph, but unmarried, a pure and chaste young lady. 152 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:04,360 And God says to her, you're going to be with child. 153 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:08,800 Her response was, well how will this be? 154 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:15,240 And God says to her, the power of God will overshadow you. 155 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:21,120 The Holy Spirit will come upon you and that one that will be conceived in your womb will 156 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,120 be holy. 157 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,440 And she accepts that as from God. 158 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:33,200 And the name that she gives to God is the Mighty One. 159 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:38,600 I just wonder if she wasn't reflecting upon the promise that had been given to Sarah and 160 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,540 to Abraham, the Mighty One. 161 00:13:41,540 --> 00:13:46,640 She identifies for us also His character as well as His name. 162 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,000 She describes her God as being powerful. 163 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,920 He says the Mighty One has done great things for me. 164 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,320 The word great there is the word mega. 165 00:13:57,320 --> 00:13:59,280 That's one of the end terms these days. 166 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:04,640 The mega things, the mega mall, the mega this, the mega that, mega vitamins. 167 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:10,220 He says here God has done mega things for me. 168 00:14:10,220 --> 00:14:13,440 Powerful things, big things. 169 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:19,480 So she sees God's character first of all as being one who is powerful. 170 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:25,520 God has done things for her that surpass in degree and intensity anything that she could 171 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:28,520 have possibly imagined. 172 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:37,420 The same word is used of Jesus in chapter 1 and verse 32 when the angel says to Mary, 173 00:14:37,420 --> 00:14:40,760 He will be mega. 174 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:46,880 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. 175 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:51,800 Secondly, Mary sees her God as holy. 176 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:56,040 For she goes on to say and holy is His name. 177 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,400 We see that word holy. 178 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:04,000 We think of God's moral perfections, that God is without any defilements. 179 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,420 And of course that is true, but the idea of holiness is bigger than that. 180 00:15:08,420 --> 00:15:12,800 The idea of holiness is that God is entirely unique. 181 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:18,720 That God cannot be compared to anything that you and I know. 182 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,520 In all of creation there is nothing that can be compared to God. 183 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:23,760 He is holy. 184 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:28,160 He is above everything and all of us. 185 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,800 He is entirely different than we are. 186 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:32,800 R.C. 187 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,520 Sproul puts it this way in his book, The Holiness of God. 188 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:43,420 He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. 189 00:15:43,420 --> 00:15:50,840 To be holy is to be other, to be different in a special way. 190 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:55,640 You see Mary had grasped this, that God was entirely different. 191 00:15:55,640 --> 00:16:00,680 He is holy in all of His divine perfections. 192 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,760 And then she sees her God as being one who is merciful. 193 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:10,760 For she quotes from the Old Testament and in fact there are quotations and allusions 194 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:18,280 to at least fifteen different Old Testament passages here in Mary's song. 195 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,720 She was a woman who knew the Old Testament scriptures. 196 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:30,200 She knew her Bible and it was reflected in the song that she wrote, that she composed 197 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,720 out of this experience with God. 198 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:42,240 Here she quotes from Psalm 103 verse 17 very clearly and she says, His mercy is upon generation 199 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,840 after generation toward those who fear Him. 200 00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:47,480 God is merciful. 201 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,520 That is her God. 202 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,240 She says the mighty one is powerful. 203 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,000 The mighty one is holy. 204 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,280 The mighty one is merciful. 205 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,040 God's mercy is God's tenderness. 206 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:09,400 James Dictionary says that God's mercy is the outward manifestation of pity. 207 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:14,360 See pity is something we feel in our hearts. 208 00:17:14,360 --> 00:17:16,800 There is sympathy there. 209 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:21,800 It's probably what went out of you or what was expressed in you when you heard about 210 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:27,400 that terrible accident in the parade the other evening. 211 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:32,720 And the mother and an infant were killed and other children and adults injured. 212 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:33,920 And our hearts went out to that. 213 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,440 There was pity and we felt for them. 214 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,760 You see mercy is the outward demonstration of that. 215 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:48,120 It's not just the feeling, it's doing something to alleviate. 216 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:55,640 Vine goes on to say that mercy assumes the need on the part of Him who receives it and 217 00:17:55,640 --> 00:18:03,000 the resources adequate to meet the need on the part of Him who shows it. 218 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:09,040 Mary says here that God is adequate for my needs. 219 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:10,640 God is all-sufficient for me. 220 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:13,280 He is merciful. 221 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,840 Now just think about those three attributes of God that she identifies as she describes 222 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:21,040 her Lord, the mighty one. 223 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,560 And notice how they fit Mary's situation. 224 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:30,080 In the first place she says the mighty one is powerful. 225 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:37,480 Mary had a situation on her hands that was made hers by the power of God in the first 226 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:39,220 place. 227 00:18:39,220 --> 00:18:40,860 She was with child. 228 00:18:40,860 --> 00:18:46,340 She had conceived by the power of God. 229 00:18:46,340 --> 00:18:51,340 And what was it that was going to carry her through this experience? 230 00:18:51,340 --> 00:18:52,920 Was it Joseph? 231 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,680 Well, Joseph would be there eventually. 232 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:04,520 So often husbands are there eventually. 233 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:09,100 But Joseph initially was mindful to put her away. 234 00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:15,440 Now out of love, out of concern for her because he didn't want her to be mocked. 235 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:23,520 So he was going to put her away privately and they would disengage from their marriage, 236 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:26,680 which had been promised. 237 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,760 But then the angel appeared to Joseph and said, don't do that. 238 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:35,440 And the angel explained to Joseph what was going on and he got on board then. 239 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:37,120 So she had Joseph. 240 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:45,480 So just think of her situation in the Jewish society that she was in. 241 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:50,460 There was a lot to be afraid of. 242 00:19:50,460 --> 00:19:54,360 There was the shunning and the mocking of many people. 243 00:19:54,360 --> 00:20:00,360 But Mary says, my God is powerful. 244 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:06,660 The mighty one caused me to be with child and the mighty one will see me through this. 245 00:20:06,660 --> 00:20:10,160 She also says the mighty one is holy. 246 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:17,080 There would be those who would say that she was unholy and that's why she was with child, 247 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:23,240 that she had been unfaithful to Joseph. 248 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:25,440 But she knew better. 249 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:32,480 She knew that her God was holy and that she was with child because of His holiness. 250 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:36,240 So God was sufficient for her. 251 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:41,400 And in her situation, she needed mercy. 252 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:48,620 She needed a mighty one who would come to her aid, who would not only feel and sympathize 253 00:20:48,620 --> 00:20:53,560 but who would actively intervene on her behalf. 254 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:59,880 So that's why I'm saying that when she identifies her God and describes Him to us, what she's 255 00:20:59,880 --> 00:21:09,040 telling us in this song is that by faith she saw that God was able to meet her every need 256 00:21:09,040 --> 00:21:11,960 in her situation. 257 00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:19,140 And thirdly, she saw by faith the deeds of this mighty one. 258 00:21:19,140 --> 00:21:26,580 She describes them in terms that we must understand in light of her day. 259 00:21:26,580 --> 00:21:29,960 She says in verse 51, He's done mighty deeds with His arm. 260 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,320 He's scattered those who were proud and thought. 261 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:38,280 He's brought down rulers from their thrones and exalted those who were humble. 262 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:44,040 He's filled the hungry and sent away the rich empty-handed. 263 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:50,680 She describes the deeds of the mighty one here in terms of social justice. 264 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:56,400 She uses language that really is revolutionary language. 265 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:04,800 By faith she grasps that what is happening to her and what will happen through her is 266 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:12,200 going to overthrow the unjust order of man. 267 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:20,280 That what is taking place here is more than personal salvation through her child. 268 00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:25,660 But eventually her child is going to bring about the overthrow of the corrupt systems 269 00:22:25,660 --> 00:22:39,640 of man that oppress the poor and exalt the arrogant and fill the rich and rob those who 270 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:43,460 are hungry. 271 00:22:43,460 --> 00:22:48,240 Much of the hunger, ladies and gentlemen, in our world today is not caused because of 272 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:54,160 the lack of food but because of political corruption in countries. 273 00:22:54,160 --> 00:23:04,840 Much of the aid that we give to foreign governments is absorbed into the pockets of corrupt politicians. 274 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:11,080 The food that we send, in fact I heard recently that there are warehouses in one particular 275 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:17,960 nation where we send food that is filled with sacks of grain from the United States. 276 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:22,780 But the people are still starving to death because that is for the political and military 277 00:23:22,780 --> 00:23:29,160 benefit of the corrupt rulers of that country. 278 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:34,640 And if anybody gets the food it's the soldiers, it's the military. 279 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:41,440 You see Mary is saying here the mighty one through what is happening to me eventually 280 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:48,840 is going to overthrow the injustice of man's system of government. 281 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:53,080 The implication is he's going to rule. 282 00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,040 Mary grasped this all by faith. 283 00:23:55,040 --> 00:24:01,080 Her faith enabled her to have this wonderful perspective on her God. 284 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:05,880 But finally her faith also helped Mary to see her times in the right way. 285 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,160 How did Mary see her times? 286 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:16,440 Well verses 54 and 55 she says, He has given help to Israel as servant in remembrance of 287 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:18,280 his mercy. 288 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:24,880 As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever. 289 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:30,600 Mary saw what was happening to her as God working in her generation. 290 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:35,960 Obviously Mary didn't understand all the details of that, but she knew that her people, 291 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:41,240 the Jewish people were oppressed under Rome. 292 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,240 That her people were enslaved in a sense to Rome. 293 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:51,560 Now they had some freedoms, but certainly not political freedom, only limited religious 294 00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,920 freedom. 295 00:24:53,920 --> 00:25:03,320 She saw the people of Israel as in bondage, not unlike they were in bondage in Egypt. 296 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:07,920 And by faith she was able to see that God was at work in her times. 297 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:09,240 There were two things that she believed. 298 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:14,960 In the first place she believed that God was executing His plan. 299 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,920 That God has a plan and He's working it. 300 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:24,040 She didn't understand that plan fully, but she knew that God is sovereign, that God is 301 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:25,040 working. 302 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:32,160 He's given help to Israel in remembrance of His mercy. 303 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:37,840 God is intervening on behalf of Israel, she said, in what is taking place with me. 304 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:42,720 Secondly, she saw that God is keeping His promises. 305 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:49,120 Just as He spoke to our fathers, God spoke to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob. 306 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:50,640 God gave a covenant to them. 307 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:55,760 He swore by an oath certain things to that people. 308 00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:00,560 She says, God is keeping His promises in my day, in my time. 309 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:02,440 She saw all of this by faith. 310 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:03,980 It's amazing. 311 00:26:03,980 --> 00:26:05,120 God does not forget. 312 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,240 God remembers, you see. 313 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:09,800 And God was working in Mary. 314 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:15,800 Now Mary accepted God's calling in her life by faith. 315 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:21,540 She surrendered by faith to God's plan for her. 316 00:26:21,540 --> 00:26:27,880 And that gave her these right perspectives that made her the woman of God that she was. 317 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:33,320 She had a right perspective on herself, a right perspective on God, a right perspective 318 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:37,680 on the times in which she lived. 319 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:44,760 I want to say to you today in closing that God calls you also to surrender to His plan 320 00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:49,040 for your life by faith. 321 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:53,320 Choose to surrender to God's plan. 322 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,160 That is an act of faith on your part, of course. 323 00:26:56,160 --> 00:27:01,160 But choose to surrender by faith to God's plan for your life. 324 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:08,920 It's only reasonable you should do so, by the way, for He has purchased you. 325 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:14,100 He has bought you with His own blood. 326 00:27:14,100 --> 00:27:22,080 But beyond that, doing so gladly and as an act of faith will glorify God. 327 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,240 It will glorify God and it will bring benefit to your life. 328 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:26,840 What will it do? 329 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:31,840 Well, first of all, it will give you right perspectives too. 330 00:27:31,840 --> 00:27:36,040 It will help you to understand why you are in the world. 331 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:39,840 Do you understand that today? 332 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:44,440 Do you understand who you are, why God has made you? 333 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,320 You say, no, I don't really. 334 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:51,880 The only way to understand that is to by faith surrender to God's plan. 335 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,640 You say, well, if I just knew what God's plan was, I would. 336 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,560 No, no, it doesn't work that way. 337 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:10,120 You have to surrender by faith first and then God will show you His plan. 338 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:14,440 And when you surrender to God's plan for your life, then God can begin giving you a right 339 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:22,200 perspective on what He's made you to be, what your life is about in His plan. 340 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:30,200 Finally, your surrendering by faith to God's plan will do for you what it did for Mary. 341 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,280 It will set your feet to dancing. 342 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:39,120 It will fill your life with joy as you see that you too are the servant of the Lord. 343 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:44,600 In whatever circumstances He brings into your life, you're His servant. 344 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:47,880 He's working out that purpose, that plan for you. 345 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:54,840 But finally, let me say to you that surrendering by faith to God's plan for your life will 346 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:55,840 do this. 347 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,880 It will mark your life forever. 348 00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:00,500 It will mark your life forever. 349 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:02,640 It did Mary's. 350 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:10,280 She says, from this time forward, all generations will call me blessed. 351 00:29:10,280 --> 00:29:17,200 Her life is marked forever as a godly example to us. 352 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:23,640 And your life will be marked forever too if you will by faith surrender to God's plan. 353 00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:30,080 It will make a difference a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now, that 354 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:37,320 you today surrender by faith to God's plan. 355 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:42,080 I hope that you will do that because it's the only way to live. 356 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:44,720 It's the only way to experience God. 357 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:48,840 And frankly, it's really what Christianity is all about. 358 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:54,520 And I say that because our Lord did the same thing. 359 00:29:54,520 --> 00:30:03,680 He surrendered by faith to the Father's plan for His life. 360 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:09,680 His going to the cross was an act of faith on His part. 361 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:19,080 He believed that the Father was going to count His life being offered there as the propitiation, 362 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:24,120 the sacrifice, the satisfying sacrifice for our sins. 363 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:31,800 He believed that God would raise Him from the dead on the third day. 364 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:39,140 And even though in the garden He prayed, if it be possible, take this away from me. 365 00:30:39,140 --> 00:30:46,680 You see also in His very next words, nevertheless, not what I will but what you will. 366 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,940 By faith He surrendered to God's plan for His life. 367 00:30:50,940 --> 00:30:56,640 And our lives today are marked because of it. 368 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:01,840 As we come to the Lord's table today, may it be with that wonderful spirit of surrender 369 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:05,080 to God's plan. 370 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,080 Let's pray. 371 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:17,920 Will you make that choice this morning as we come to the Lord's table? 372 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:28,640 And may I ask you to outwardly show that you are surrendered to God's plan by faith, by 373 00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:32,100 partaking of these elements. 374 00:31:32,100 --> 00:31:42,440 And as you eat this bread and drink this cup, be saying to the Lord, Jesus, just as you 375 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:51,240 surrendered by faith to God's plan for my salvation, so I surrender by faith to your 376 00:31:51,240 --> 00:32:00,040 plan for my life, whatever that means. 377 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:08,040 And Jesus, may it be with that sense of glad surrender in faith that we partake of this 378 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:09,640 bread. 379 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,640 We receive it with gratitude for its symbolism. 380 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:30,240 Amen.