Welcome to another Weekend Sermon. I am glad that you have stopped by to read the sermon today. I hope that everyone is doing very well today.
I am waiting to hear back about the publication of my book. It is a slow process, and sometimes it is hard to be patient. Please pray that all will go well with the book. Also, please pray about my work situation. The stress at work has caused me to develop some stomach problems. Please pray that I will feel better, and that I can find work that will be a little less stressful.
Here in the United States, many people lost their homes in Tennessee due to the terrible fires. Let us pray for these families, and pray that the fires can be extinguished. Also, continue to pray for those in Haiti, Italy, Japan and New Zealand who have been affected by natural disasters.
Continue to pray for peace in Syria and Iraq. For our prayer focus countries this week, please pray for Benin and India. Pray that people will hear and respond to the message of Jesus.
Last week, we began our series of messages on the Advent season. We looked at the messages contained in two well-known Christmas carols. Today, we will continue in Advent, and we will examine the words of Jesus' mother, Mary.
Luke 1 gives us the account of the annunciation of Jesus' first coming into this world. The Bible says that Mary was a virgin who was engaged to a man named Joseph. One day, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to announce that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus who would be the Son of the Most High God. Upon hearing about all this, Mary said as recorded in Luke 1:38, "I am the Lord's servant, May your word to me be fulfilled." She was willing to do what the Lord asked her to do. She would be the mother of Jesus.
As far as I am concerned, Mary had to be the most holy woman who ever lived. I say this because I don't believe that God would have chosen her to be the mother of His Son unless she was a holy and devout person. Her words of obedience demonstrate her commitment to following after the way of the Lord.
After Mary heard the words of Gabriel, she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth who lived in the hill country of Judea. Elizabeth was the woman who would be the mother of John the Baptist. She was already six months pregnant when Mary came to visit her. When Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She said that Mary was blessed among women and that Mary was the mother of the Lord.
When Mary heard Elizabeth's word, she uttered the words that are known as the Magnificat. They are powerful words, and I want to focus upon them today.
In Luke 46-47 Mary says, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Mary was a woman who was filled with praise directed toward the Lord. She recognized that God was her Savior, and she gave praise unto His name. We need to follow the example of Mary, and direct our praises to the Lord. He has done such great things for us. During this Advent season, let us focus our attention on the greatness of the Lord. Jesus loved us so much that He came to earth as a baby. He lived a perfect, holy and sinless life to be our example. He came to die to save us from our sins. During this Christmas season, let us not forget to give Jesus all the honor, glory and praise that He so rightly deserves.
In verse 48 Mary states, "He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed." The Lord often uses those in humble circumstances to do mighty things. The Lord chose a peasant girl to be the mother of Jesus and a carpenter to be Jesus' stepfather. God chose people like Gideon and David in the Old Testament. These were people that others overlooked, yet God chose them to do great things for Him. Today, no matter your state, if you humble yourself in obedience to God, God will use you to do great things for Him. Generations have recognized that Mary was blessed to be the mother of the Lord.
Skipping down to verse 51-52 Mary says, "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." The Bible is quite clear that pride comes before a fall. Whenever someone gets lifted up with pride, they will be brought down. There are three examples of this I can think of right away. The devil was lifted up with pride. He thought he could be like God, and the devil ended up being cast down. Nebuchadnezzer thought he was great, but he was brought low. Herod in the book of Acts exalted himself, but he was killed instantly. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Those with a humble heart are pleasing to the Lord. The great example of humility in all of the Bible is Jesus. He humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death on the cross.
The Lord will bring down all those who exalt themselves in pride. Right now, there are a lot of rulers and leaders in this world that are impressed with themselves and their power. The Lord can bring them down at any moment. The Lord will not tarry long with those who exalt themselves and oppress others. One day, all those who have exploited and oppressed the poor and the weak will stand before the judgment seat of the Lord. They will be brought low, but the poor, the weak and the oppressed will be lifted up by the Lord.
We see this so clearly expressed in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man lifted up his eyes being in torment while Lazarus was at rest and in peace in Abraham's bosom.
Mary continued in verse 53, "He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty." I wonder if this was not a prophecy of what her Son Jesus would do in His earthly ministry. Jesus feed the 5,000 on one occasion and the 4,000 at another time. He was the bread that came down from Heaven to feed the hunger in the souls of men and women. While Jesus was on this earth, it was the poor and the downtrodden who were attracted to Jesus. The rich, the powerful and the religious leaders spurned the Lord and wanted nothing to do with Him.
One day, when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom on earth that will have no end, He will bring justice to the poor and the oppressed. Those who were hungry will be filled, Those who had little will be blessed by the Lord. Those who were rich and exploited others for their own selfish desires will depart from the presence of the Lord empty handed.
We live in a day and age that is filled with greed and oppression. The corporate elites and the powerful do everything in their power to keep people in poverty. They will crush anyone to get what they want. The church of Jesus Christ should stand up against the forces of oppression and stand for peace with justice in this world
Mary concludes in verses 54-55 remembering God's faithful promises to Israel. God has not forgotten His people. The child in Mary's womb was the fulfillment of all of God's promises. Through Jesus all the nations of the world would be blessed. Through Jesus, a descendant of David would sit forever ruling from the throne. Through Jesus all people can come to a relationship with the Father.
I love these words of Mary the mother of Jesus. They are powerful words that should grip our hearts. We have much to learn from them.
Next week, I will reveal my dog book of the year on Wednesday weather permitting. We might have a lot of snow. Hopeful not. On Monday, I will post the verses. Next week in the sermon, we will continue with our Advent messages. May God bless you all. Amen.
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