Introduction:
Perspective is important. Our decisions and how we live our lives are based on how we see things. I hold in my hand a glass. Is it half empty, or is it half full? Your answer depends on your perspective.
Two shoe salesmen from the same shoe manufacturers are sent to two different remote parts of the world to sell their company’s line of shoes. One salesman texts his home office: “Get me out of here; nobody here wears shoes.” The other salesman emails the company: “Send me all the shoes you can; nobody here wears shoes.” The salesmen’s answers to their home company depended upon their perspective.
Christmas, as you might image, is seen by people from many different perspectives. Mr. Scrooge sees it as a time to hold tight to the purse strings. A mom might see it as a time for all her children to come back home. A child may be it as a time to get all the toys that he or she wants for Christmas. A Christian hopefully sees it as a time to remember the birth of Christ. It is so interesting to me how two people can look at Christmas and see it so differently.
This morning in our passage, Mary gives us the very first perspective of Christmas. And so I want to pay close attention to how the very first person to celebrate Christmas saw the very first Christmas. Maybe I can learn something from Mary’s perspective.
Scripture:
Luke 1:46-55 (NKJV)
46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth 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 on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
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 seed forever."
Point #1
FROM MARY’S PERSPECTIVE, THAT FIRST CHRISTMAS WAS SOMETHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT. AND AS CHRISTIAN LIVING IN 2019, THIS CHRISTMAS OUGHT TO BE SOMETHING THAT I GET PASSIONATE ABOUT.
46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Mary says that my soul this first Christmas swells up with Jesus. In other words, this first Christmas, the thing I cannot get enough of is Jesus. I wonder what your soul swells up with this Christmas. Could it be that your soul swells up with worry because you have so much to do and so little time to do it? Could it be your soul swells up with all the activities at Christmas- the firework show in Osyka, the lights in Tylertown, the Southwest Community College Christmas production? What your soul should swell up with is Jesus!
And then Mary says, my insides are overwhelmed with joy that Jesus is in my life and that He is my Savior. Just like the first Christmas reminded Mary that she needed a Savior, every Christmas should remind us that each one of us needs a Savior. Jesus did not leave heaven to come to earth to check it out to see his handiwork. He came with one purpose in mind to be my Savior. Paul tells us that in Philippians 2:5-8 (NKJV)
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore, Christmas should remind me that my heart should swell up with joy because Jesus is my Savior.
POINT #2
FROM MARY’S PERSPECTIVE, THAT FIRST CHRISTMAS WAS ABOUT GOD BLESSING HER. AND AS A CHRISTIAN LIVING IN 2019, THIS CHRISTMAS OUGHT TO BE A REMINDER THAT GOD BLESSES ME.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth 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 on those who fear Him From generation to generation.
In the verses I just read, Mary says that God blesses her three ways.
First, she says that “He has regarded my lowly estate,” which is saying that God paid attention to me. What a blessing that is: God pays attention to you and me! When I pray, God pays attention. When I get myself in a mess, God pays attention. When I have lost my way, God pays attention to me.
Secondly, God has done great things for me. We all can say that. I am so thankful this morning that we serve a God who did not just put everything in motion and then sit back and watch. Instead, He is actively involved in our lives. James says every good and perfect gift comes from our Father above.
Thirdly, His mercy is upon me. I am so thankful this Christmas that God does not give me what I deserve but His mercies toward me are fresh every day.
POINT #3
FROM MARY’S PERSPECTIVE, THAT FIRST CHRISTMAS WAS ABOUT GOD BEING IN CONTROL. AND AS A CHRISTIAN LIVING IN 2019, THIS CHRISTMAS SHOULD REINFORCE WITHIN ME THAT GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
In the early part of Luke Chapter 1, the Angel Gabriel is talking to Zacharias announcing that Elizabeth will bear a son, and he will be called John. And the Angel Gabriel says this in verse 19, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.”
And what Gabriel is saying is that God orchestrated this event. God is in control of all this that is happening.
So, when the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary, she will conceive a child, and His birth will be miraculous, a child conceived by a virgin. Unheard of! It can only mean that God is in control. God is the one in the miracle-working business.
And when God worked it out that Mary of Nazareth had the baby while she was in Bethlem because of the census called by Ceasar Augustus, we know God had worked it out yet again to fulfill the prophecy of Micah 5:2
2 "But you, Bethlehem Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel…”
In 2019, when we look at our Congress and think that things are spiraling out of control, I need to remember that the God of Christmas is still in control.
In 2019, when we look at the Hallmark channel known for family entertainment caving into the gay and lesbian community and running an ad featuring a lesbian couple kissing at the end of a marriage ceremony, I need to remember that God is still in control.
In 2019, when we look at our young population and the effect the epidemic of drugs has had on their lives, I need to remember that God is in control.
I need Christmas to remind me that God is still in control.
POINT#4
FROM MARY’S PERSPECTIVE, THAT FIRST CHRISTMAS WAS GOD FULLING HIS PROMISES TO ISRAEL THAT HE WILL COME. AND AS A CHRISTIAN LIVING IN 2019, THIS CHRISTMAS OUGHT TO BE A REMINDER THAT HE WILL COME AGAIN.
54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."
We read earlier from Micah 5 about the Ruler of Israel, who will be born in Bethlehem, who will be Christ the Lord. It is a fulfillment of His promise.
In 1 Kings 9:5 (NKJV)
5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'
Once again, the fulfillment of His promise. Mary saw the Birth of Christ as the fulfillment of the promise of God that goes all the way back to Abraham.
Genesis 26:4 (NKJV)
4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;
In 2019, we look forward to the fulfillment that Christ made to us that He will come again as He has promised for His church. And if Christ promised the first time that He would come, and He delivered. Christ promised that He would come again, and Christmas reminds me that He will fulfill that promise one day. Oh, glorious day!
Let us pray.
