Don’t Miss God’s Song
Missing Christmas • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro
Intro
The Musical has begun! When Jesus arrives
the singing begins, the joy, the party.
All the people in these 2 chapters of Luke’s Gospel worship the Lord:
Elizabeth:
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Mary:
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
Zechariah:
His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
The angels:
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
Simeon:
Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required,
Anna:
Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Young and old, men and women, heaven and earth praise and sing to the Lord.
There is joy, praise and song: it is a celestial musical!
This is the time to rejoice and praising God, it’s time to participate with the Church of Jesus in singing.
We don't want miss the Musical, we don't want to miss the feast, let us not lose the songthat God has given us.
The song of Mary! Let us now notice how this young woman of Judea sings to the Lord.
We have to consider it as her song, known by all as “the Magnificant.”
Mary’s song is full of truths that belong to the Old Testament but sung by Mary in tune with the New Testament’s prospective.
Sermon's Outline. Regarding Mary's song, we want analyze what are the 3 characteristics that make unique this hymn to the Lord:
The Joy in the Song;
The Humility in the Song;
The Revolution in the Song.
N. 1 - The Joy in the Song
N. 1 - The Joy in the Song
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
It is a pure, holy joy. This season of the year should be characterized by joy.
Joyful for the lights, for the sweets, for the gifts, for the
holidays.
But Mary, through her song, expresses a different joy, a pure, holy joy.
The joy of Mary is not linked to gifts or Christmas songs, but is connected to Her God and Lord.
Of this pure joy we want to consider 2 aspects:
1. The Source of Mary's joy. Luke 1:46 is really clear:
And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
When the Lord is the source of our joy, then we will have a healthy, pure and holy joy!
Many people lack true joy during this season of the year because the source, the wellspring of their joy is their ego.
Like Mary we desire to find the source of our joy only in You Lord: Psalm 87:7
As they make music they will sing,
“All my fountains are in you.”
In Discipleship Journal Paul Thigpen writes:
I remember coming home one afternoon to discover that the kitchen I had worked so hard to clean only a few hours before was now a terrible wreck. My young daughter had obviously been busy “cooking,” and the ingredients were scattered, along with dirty bowls and utensils, across the counters and floor. I was not happy with the situation.
Then, as I looked a little more closely at the mess, I spied a tiny note on the table, clumsily written and smeared with chocolatey fingerprints. The message was short—“I’m makin sumthin 4 you, Dad”—and it was signed, “Your Angel.”
In the midst of that disarray, and despite my irritation, joy suddenly sprang up in my heart, sweet and pure. My attention had been redirected from the problem to the little girl I loved. As I encountered her in that brief note, I delighted in her. With her simple goodness in focus, I could take pleasure in seeing her hand at work in a situation that seemed otherwise disastrous.
The same is true of my joy in the Lord. Many times life looks rather messy; I can’t find much to be happy about in my circumstances. Nevertheless, if I look hard enough, I can usually see the Lord behind it all, or at least working through it all, “makin sumthin” for me.
The completeness of Mary's joy. In Luke 1:47, Mary says:
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Maria knew that her little boy would not only be the Savior of the world, but also her personal Savior.
This news made her joy pure and complete.
The joy that this world gives lasts a glass of wine, one evening with friends, like power in the batteries of a new toy: it ends immediately.
The joy this generation offers us does not satisfy us, it does not complete us.
Better to have a Christian’s days of sorrows than a wordling’s joys.
Charles Spurgeon
Joy is not an accident of temperament or an unpredictable providence; joy is a matter of choice.
J. I. Packer
N. 2 - The Humility in the Song
N. 2 - The Humility in the Song
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
A humble response. Although God's miracle in her life would have made her the first pregnant virgin woman in history, Mary with her song reveals her humility compared to the great things that God would accomplish in her life.
But what are the reasons that lead Mary to respond humbly to such glorious assignment?
There are at least 2 reasons for the Mary's humility:
Because of God's grace. Luke 1:48 reveals Mary's opinion of herself:
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
Although many people still try, even today, to bring Mary's role to the same level as God's role, this young woman knew well her place.
This society lacks humility.
Many believe to deserve more than they have.
Yet the Bible is clear on this point: what we all deserved was the judgment of God.
But God’s grace has reached us where we were.
5992 Because Christ Jesus came to the world clothed in humility, he will always be found among those who are clothed with humility. He will be found among the humble people.
A. W. Tozer
Because of God's power. In Luke 1:49, Mary acknowledges God's power over her life.
Many liberal theologians have tried to explain the miracle that happened to Mary, but without success.
Instead Mary understood that it was the power of God that worked in her.
To this glorious power we can and we must answer simply with humility and gratitude.
With David, we want to acknowledge God's omnipotence and respond to that power with humility:
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Humility)
Corrie ten Boom was once asked if it was difficult for her to remain humble. Her reply was simple. “When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and everyone was waving palm branches and throwing garments on the road, and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that any of that was for him?”
She continued, “If I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory, I give him all the praise and all the honor.
N. 3 - The Revolution in the Song
N. 3 - The Revolution in the Song
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
Heaven's revolution has begun. It's not the first time that the women in the Bible, through their song, inaugurate a spiritual revolution.
Miriam and Deborah are examples that certify how God delights in using humble instruments like simple women to proclaim His revolution on earth.
Even this morning, through Mary's song, a celestial revolution is proclaimed.
About this revolution I wish to consider at least 2 aspects that made it possible:
God's facts. In Luke 1:51-53 Mary says that God began to act, to move, destroying the terrible system that enslaved millions of people.
The Lord had promised this glorious revolution already in the book of Genesis:
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
God kept His promise in Mary as in Elizabeth with concrete facts, 2 impossible births: John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth, the voice of God and the Messiah of God.
These are facts, church!
Mary's faith. The revolution Mary sang about was absolutely real!
It must be said, however, that while Mary sang these glorious words, none of those promises had yet come true.
In fact, the ruthless King Herod was still on his throne, Caesar still ruled Judea, and Mary was just a pregnant jewish young woman in a small town called Nazareth.
Although Mary had not yet fulfilled all those glorious promises, by faith she saw what God would accomplish in the world through the coming of His Son Jesus.
The question we must ask ourselves is: Can we too, by faith, sing a song proclaiming all the blessings and all the promises of God even though we don't see them yet fulfilled?
Perhaps the reality you are experiencing is keeping your mouth shut.
Maybe, humanly speaking, this 2024 does not encourage you to sing to God.
The circumstances you are experiencing are causing you discouragement.
This morning like Mary, as we look at our problems, by faith we want to sing a song, an halleluja that proclaims the miracles God will perform for each of us.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Let the musical begin. Mary's song is the hymn that starts the feast.
My prayer is that the Lord may initiate this heavenly harmony, this blessed musical in our church too.
Men and women, young and old, moved by pure joy and sincere humility, ready to sing the spiritual revolution that we can all experience in Jesus.
