TOUCH HEAVEN
Luke 1:26-56
S: Praise to God
Th: The Christmas Touch
Pr: TOUCH GOD WITH YOUR PRAISE.
?: When?
KW: Times
TS: We will find in our study of Mary that there are two times when we are to touch God with praise.
The ____ time we should touch God with praise is the…
I. GOOD TIMES
II. BAD TIMES
RMBC 24 December 01 Christmas Eve
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Good News (broken finger)
A man went to see his doctor in an acute state of anxiety. "Doctor," he said, "you have to help me. I’m dying. Everywhere I touch it hurts. I touch my head and it hurts. I touch my leg and it hurts. I touch my stomach and it hurts. I touch my chest and it hurts. You have to help me, Doc, everything hurts."
The doctor gave him a complete examination. "Mr. Smith," he said, "I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is you are not dying. The bad news is you have a broken finger."
1. It is interesting how the same event can have both good and bad news to it.
ILL Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities”
We are reminded of that with…
The beginning of Charles Dickens” classic, A Tale of Two Cities. It starts like this:
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
This easily could have been said of the times when Jesus was born.
When Jesus was born, Judea was a vassal state of Rome.
Augustus Caesar was emperor and gave watch over Herod who acted as king.
During this time, people scrambled to make a living.
Poverty was all about and sickness was common.
Justice, however, was not.
To make it worse, the prophets were silent.
And for 400 years, the question had been, “Where is the Messiah?”
For many, it was the worst of times.
Curiously, there were some religious stargazers in Persia who saw it differently.
They had observed an unusual planetary alignment making the brightest star they had ever seen.
For them it was an omen, a good omen, signifying the birth of a world leader.
It was the best of times.
I think Mary would agree with that.
That first Christmas day was the best of times.
For…
2. After Mary went through the events of the first Christmas day, she was filled with wonder (Luke 2:19).
The text in Luke says…
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
It had been an unbelievable nine months.
She had a lot to think about.
A lot had happened.
Perhaps she even reflected to the beginning of the story nine months earlier.
[don’t say this]
3. [We will find in our study of Mary that there are two times we can respond to God’s work in our lives (Luke 1:26-56).]
The text in Luke 1 goes like this:
(26) In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, (27) to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. (28) The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (29) Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. (30) But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. (31) You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. (32) He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, (33) and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” (34) “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (35) The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (36) Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. (37) For nothing is impossible with God.” (38) “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
(39) At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, (40) where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. (41) When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (42) In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! (43) But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (44) As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. (45) Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
(46) And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord (47) and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, (48) for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, (49) for the Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name. (50) His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. (51) He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. (52) He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. (53) He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. (54) He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful (55) to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”
(56) Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
OUR STUDY:
I. [The first time we should touch God with praise is the GOOD TIMES.]
When the news came to Mary about being chosen, she was amazed at the wonder of it all.
The angels said that she was “highly favored.”
I think she immediately saw the privilege of it all, to be selected to carry the long-awaited Messiah.
I suspect she knew she could have been just one more nameless, faceless peasant girl from an unnoticed little village.
But, she does not congratulate herself.
She doesn’t come across as if she earned it.
Instead, she celebrates God.
She reaches out to God and touches Him with praise.
SHE TOUCHES GOD WITH PRAISE.
She sees clearly a most remarkable thing about God.
He is about to change the course of human history…the most important three decades in all time are about to begin.
And where is God?
He is occupying Himself with two obscure, humble women—one old and barren—the other young and virginal.
And Mary’s response is powerful.
She excitedly sings out a psalm of her own making.
It is a song of worship.
When she says, “My soul glorifies the Lord,” the word glorifies (or magnify in other translations) is a powerful word, it denotes a mammoth expression of exaltation of who God is.
It is mega-exaltation.
And then, when she says, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior” she uses a word that means “overjoyed.”
There is an unspeakable joy that is too difficult to express.
And while she communicates many things about God’s character, I want to notice one particular one, that is, God is a saving God.
You don’t have to plead and beg with God like you do with other gods.
God is a saving God by nature who reaches out to His people who are in need, who are in the worst of times.
In this upcoming drama, let us return to that first Christmas night and take a look at how a conversation between Joseph and Mary may have sounded.
ILL Drama: “Mary’s Heart”
II. [The second time we should touch God with praise is the BAD TIMES.]
When the news came to Mary about being chosen, she had to wonder how this maze of events would affect her.
It was “good times” to be selected by the Lord.
But the cost easily made it the worst of times.
Here she was, sexually innocent, about to have a child out of wedlock.
She has to tell her fiancé an unbelievable story.
She is pregnant by God.
If you were Joseph, would you have believed it?
Probably not.
So here we have a disappointed and confused fiancé.
To go with it, we have a soiled reputation, which will certainly engender ridicule and strange stares.
Eventually, Joseph does get it right and takes Mary as his wife.
But now, to make an emotionally difficult pregnancy worse, it’s time to make a trip to Bethlehem because of the census.
Then, when they finally make it to Bethlehem, there is no room for them in the inn.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the real contractions had begun.
The baby was on the way.
So, the best that they can do is a stable, which certainly was not the most desirable location.
But, at least they had privacy, until the shepherds showed up.
The important aspect I want to note here is the attitude of Mary.
SHE TOUCHES GOD WITH PRAISE.
She is a true worshipper of God.
For you can tell a true worshipper because they go through the circumstances of life with an unadulterated contentment and unchanging joy.
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
There was plenty to ponder.
And there was plenty to be content about.
She had the satisfaction that her willingness to be available, usable and obedient was worthwhile, even through all this hardship.
APPLICATION:
There is one way to respond to the times, whether good times or in bad times.
TOUCH GOD WITH YOUR PRAISE.
Today, more than ever, is a time for worship, for the true spirit of Christmas is worship.
Gordon Dahl says, “In our culture we tend to worship our work, work at our play, and play at our worship.”
How true these words seem to be, especially during this time of the year.
This is not a time for play, but a time for worship, for there is good news all about.
For the distance between man and God is not something of God’s creation, but of man’s.
Man has created the distance.
But…God has bridged the gap as He promised He would.
This is worth our worship.
We have opportunity to celebrate His promise-keeping character.
For some, life is pretty sweet right now.
You have family all about.
It is a time of happiness.
For others, life is more bittersweet and difficult.
For even others, it is just plain sour.
But we all have reason to celebrate.
The reason comes from the angel Gabriel, “For nothing is impossible with God.”
Whatever you face today, it is not impossible for God.
Understand that Mary, both through the good times and the bad times gave praise to God.
For with fingers of faith, she reached out and touched the face of God (even as she held Him in her lap and peered into His tiny face.)
So as we sing our final hymns and go through our traditional candle lighting, think about the great things the Lord has done for you.
Let your praise be rooted in this reality…that God is no longer far off, but always on site.
This series of messages was based on Mainstay Church Resources’, “The Christmas Touch, Making Christlike Connections during the Holidays.” The resources they provided were used in the development of these messages.
