A Soul that Magnifies the Lord: Luke 1:39-56

This third week in Advent, please turn in your Bibles to Luke.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

Chapter 1.

We'll be reading verses 39 to 56.

This time of season of joy that we look at this morning.

I'm going to read the account of Mary's famous song, poem, if you will.

Here and read what God did in her life.

In those days, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

She exclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.

Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.

For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name, and his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm.

He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy.

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his offspring forever.

And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

This is the reading of God's holy word, his precious word, his powerful word.

When the Spirit does his work, and so we ask for his blessing now.

Would you join me in prayer?

Father, we thank you.

We thank you that you've given us your word, which is truth.

Father, we thank you that you've given us your Son in whom we find life.

We thank you for giving us your Spirit.

The one who reveals the real Savior.

The one who reveals the truth that opens our eyes to see what we need to see.

Lord Jesus, may your spirit show us that this morning.

May your spirit give us that this morning.

We pray in your name.

Amen.

So I have a question for you.

What's your favorite Christmas carol?

What's your favorite Christmas song?

Have we sung it yet this Advent season?

Are you waiting for it?

Well, maybe you're going to hear it tonight.

You come back for lessons and carols.

What's that song that you just love to hear about the birth of our Lord?

Well, as you know, many of you know, we're looking at the Advent songs according to Dr.

Luke and his gospel.

We've been looking the last few weeks.

This morning we're looking at the first of those.

It's really a poem put to song by Mary.

It's known through history as the Magnificat, which comes from the Latin to magnify.

That's what Mary was doing.

Graham Scroggy, theologian, says this is the last of the Hebrew Psalms and the first of the Christian hymns.

In the point of redemptive history, at this point, I think he's probably right.

This is no dirge.

This is a song of praise and joy.

Mary's praising her Savior.

It's been said that the Magnificat is like an aria in the opera.

The action almost stops so that the situation may be savored more deeply.

I think that's true.

As we listen into this song, this beautiful poem, I think we see that.

It forces us to slow down.

This song.

This poem.

And that's good for us, isn't it, right about now?

Some of us are exhausted already.

We've been going at such a fast pace.

So many things to do, so many Christmas programs to attend, maybe, so many gifts to purchase.

There's so much going on.

And isn't it good in worship on Sunday morning to slow down, to focus, to center on the things that are most important?

To slow us down, to celebrate the salvation that we find in the Christ child.

So let's take a closer look.

Let's dive in this morning at this beautiful song.

To magnify, to enlarge the apparent size, not in physical size, not to actually make something bigger, but to see what we see as bigger, to magnify, to increase in significance, to be held in greater esteem or respect.

I mean, we would say in the vernacular, to just make something bigger and bigger in our own eyes.

Mary says, my soul is making the Lord Jesus bigger and bigger in her eyes.

The truth is not how big God is.

God never gets bigger.

God never becomes greater.

How could he be?

He has been from eternity, all that he is.

Isn't it said well in, I think, the book of common worship?

When we see him for who he truly is, we will worship him as we truly ought.

Isn't that what this is about?

We're still just trying to see and understand and comprehend who he is.

And one day for all of us in Christ, all of us who are believers in Christ, one day, when we are with him, not by faith but by sight, when that day comes and we see him as he truly is, what do you think you're gonna do?

I guarantee you, nobody's gonna yawn.

I guarantee you, nobody's gonna say, is that what this is all about?

Nobody's gonna be underwhelmed on that day when you see him as he truly is.

So what's the point of the years that we have on earth?

To ask the Holy Spirit, like Mary, to show us, to get a greater glimpse of who he really is now, so our hearts will swell up with praise and gratitude now.

This is what we're looking at this morning.

As the Lord Jesus grows bigger in our own eyes, like Mary, that we will live lives of praise.

This morning I'm thinking about praise, the object of our praise, the agent of our praise, and the power of our praise.

The object of our praise, the object of the praise in this song is not Mary.

Mary is not the object of the praise.

We know that, right?

Do we know that?

No, the object of Mary's praise is her God, not herself.

She's not getting a big head.

She's getting a bigger heart.

Oh, I wonder what we might have done in that situation.

Sometimes a little bit of praise could give us a big head, right?

I mean, sometimes.

Just a little bit of praise.

No.

We're missing the point.

Seeing Jesus doesn't lead to a bigger head.

It leads to a more praiseworthy heart, a more humble heart, as we're going to see.

Psalm 103, verse 1, the psalmist said, Bless the Lord, O my soul, in all that is in me.

Psalms 103:1

Bless his holy name.

In the very center of our being, with all of our faculties, we would say, from our hearts.

Lord, we want you to accept our praise.

We receive our praise for you, for who you are and what you've done for us.

What comes from our hearts reveals what we store in our hearts.

Isn't it interesting how the Pharisees stored God's word in their hearts, but not God's grace?

You know, you can store even something as precious as this, you can store this in your heart, and yet if God is not showing you and revealing to you his grace, it's not going to ever be enough.

It might actually send you in the wrong direction, as it did the Pharisees.

If it increases our sense of accomplishment in ourselves, if it increases our sense of self-righteousness, if it increases our sense of worthiness before God, it's damning us more than it's helping us.

It's not enough to store the word of God as precious as it is, but the grace of God must accompany the word of God to give us what we need.

Oh, how Mary did that.

Do you know in this poem there's at least a dozen quotations and references from the Old Testament?

This teenage girl knew her Bible.

She knew her Bible.

I don't know.

Maybe we should just stop for a moment.

And thank God and pray, maybe even pray, because there's a lot of little children downstairs right now that are learning their Bible.

But they're also praying that Jesus would give them grace to understand, to take into their hearts what they're learning.

Isn't that a beautiful thing, parents?

That right now, when you come to worship, that they're going to worship God in a level maybe that they can understand better.

We praise God for all the teaching and all the learning that our little ones receive.

But it's important to store away God's word and God's grace.

Mary is quoting or alluding from Genesis, Deuteronomy, 1st and 2 Samuel, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Boy, she knew her Bible.

Yes, she was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit was using what she had stored away.

And the Holy Spirit will use what you store away in your heart, in your mind.

This was a biblical song.

This was a gospel song that Mary sang.

Mary praises her God for his might.

Verse 49, he who is mighty has done great things for me.

The mighty God reaches down in mercy, lifting up the humble.

This is the God that we serve.

Mary, the peasant, girl in that day and age.

Scholars believe that she surely was not more than 14 years of age or 15.

That was the cultural norm at that time to get engaged around 14 or 15, to have a child soon after.

Get that picture in your mind.

This young, godly, peasant, marginalized person in their society, the girls didn't go to school.

There was not much expected of them at that time in that culture.

But God noticed.

God sees what sometimes feels like invisibility to us.

God sees.

Are you feeling invisible today?

Are you feeling like nobody is seeing you?

Nobody's hearing the cries of your heart.

Well, I can promise you that there is one who sees exactly what's in your heart.

He sees exactly what you're going through.

He knows what your thoughts are.

He knows where your despair is found.

He knows how to lift you up if you turn your eyes to him.

Mary praises God.

A woman, a young lady who's not used to being noticed, is noticed.

I find that very encouraging.

But Mary also praises her God for his mercy, not only his might, he comes down to the outsiders.

This is the story of Christmas.

Why is it?

Why did Jesus say, with the rich, it's impossible to enter the kingdom of God?

Well, thank God there will people, there will be rich people in heaven.

But by comparison, not many.

Why?

Because those of us who have so much so much resource, the more resources we have available to us, the harder it is to be humble, isn't it?

To really say, Lord Jesus, I have this and I have that and I have that.

But if I don't have you, I don't have anything.

Mary knew that.

Jesus comes down to the outsiders.

God humbles the proud.

That's what she's saying in her song.

He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.

He has brought down the mighty from their thrones.

Isn't that an interesting phrase?

God brings down the mighty from their thrones.

What would that look like this morning if he did that in your life?

Is there a throne that you're building?

Is there a throne that you're building?

To set yourself up, to lift yourself up, to be noticed in an unhealthy way, to be praised in an unhealthy way.

To be needed in an unhealthy way.

Are you building up your throne?

God could do nothing more gracious today if that's the case.

And to remove, to bring down that throne, to show you that He's the only one that sits on the throne.

There's not room for two.

He alone sits on the throne.

This is the message of Christmas.

Jonathan Edwards talked a lot about a proud heart.

On one occasion, he said there's three things, at least three things, that are known about proud people.

First of all, a proud heart is sure of every point.

A proud person can't differentiate between major things and minor things.

Everything they say is important.

Everything they say, everybody else needs to listen to.

Everything they say, everybody else to, you get the point.

What does it feel like when you're around that?

Exhausting.

They have to have the last word on everything.

You're supposed to believe and do everything that they say.

A proud heart is sure of every point.

Secondly, a proud heart enjoys confronting or avoids confronting.

That's true.

A proud heart either loves, runs to conflict, loves to stir up conflict, and we won't get into the psychological reasons why.

Or just avoids conflict at all cost.

That might be more surprising.

Well, wait a minute.

Isn't that humility?

No, not necessarily.

Someone who cannot confront, someone who cannot engage in conflict is really proud.

I won't allow myself to get pulled in to something that I can't figure out, something that I can't resolve.

Thirdly, Jonathan Edwards said, a proud heart is always unhappy with your life.

The proud person is going through life always saying, Why is this happening to me?

I don't deserve this.

The proud heart is going through life saying, Why?

Why?

This doesn't make sense.

I shouldn't have to deal with this in my life.

I shouldn't have to deal with these things in my life.

The proud heart thinks I know better.

God, why are you doing this?

The proud heart.

Angry with God, angry with other people that get in the way of blocked goals, the angry heart.

The humble heart says, although I don't understand much of what's going on in my life, God, I know you understand.

Although I don't understand why this has happened or that has happened, although there's much I don't understand about my life, God, I know, I know that you know, that you understand, and that there's a purpose behind everything you send into my life.

The humble heart believes that.

The humble heart knows that.

I trust you, Lord.

That's what Mary did, isn't it?

This is what we see in Mary.

The Bible says in James chapter 4, verse 10 humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

James 4:10

Grace runs downhill.

Are we humble enough?

Are we low enough to receive it?

A proud heart will stiff arm God's grace.

Mary humbled herself to God's grace.

God gives grace to the humble, the greatest reversal of all, according to Dr.

Luke and his gospel and all the other gospels.

The greatest irony of all, as we sang the gospel this morning.

These are some beautiful Christmas songs we're singing.

We're singing the gospel.

The one who made the grass, the one who made the earth, the one that walked on it, the humility of our Savior.

That the greatest reversal of all is that though he was mighty, for our sake he became poor, that we might become rich in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the humility that he's looking for.

This is the humility he looked for in Mary.

He looks for in me and you.

The object of our praise, but secondly, the agent of praise.

I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count.

What's the point?

Who's all over the pages of these words?

The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is all over the story.

The Holy Spirit filled Mary.

The Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth, her cousin, that she went to visit.

She's pregnant with John the Baptist.

She's six months ahead.

And when Mary comes to Elizabeth's house, which by the way was no easy journey, probably about a hundred-mile journey through desert, it was dangerous.

But she had to go see.

The baby with the Holy Spirit at work knew that the baby knew that he in utero was in the presence of his Lord.

Elizabeth knew.

Why would you bring my Lord to me?

And you say, wait a minute, it's a baby.

Lord at birth, the song tells us.

The agent of praise is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit came upon Mary.

The Holy Spirit is still coming down.

The Holy Spirit is still looking for people that are empty, like Mary, to receive.

There are no vacuums in the spiritual life.

The Lord cannot fill what is already full.

What is our greatest danger?

To be filled with our own selves.

To be filled with our own thoughts, to be filled with our own beliefs, to be filled with our own agendas, to be filled with our own resources.

The Holy Spirit won't work with that.

He won't.

We have to empty ourselves of ourselves.

Only the Holy Spirit can do that.

But the Holy Spirit, I believe, is looking and searching for people who are empty to make us see ourselves as empty.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit will bring about another new birth here today.

I would not be the least bit surprised if he did, because that's what he does.

When he's invited in.

Oh, I wish you could.

I'm using the wrong word.

I wish you could join us for our pre-worship prayer meetings every Sunday morning.

I said could.

Maybe you can.

We just meet down that hall.

Every Sunday morning.

We gather for 30 minutes to pray for this worship service.

The 11 o'clock worship service.

What do we pray for?

That the Holy Spirit will come fresh.

That the Holy Spirit will draw near.

That the Holy Spirit will bring people who don't need Jesus, to know Jesus, to come to Jesus.

We pray that those of us who know Jesus might have fresh glimpses of his grace and his glory.

Because we know that we can't do this.

The agent of praise is the Holy Spirit.

No one else.

There must be a new birth in us as there was in Mary.

There must be in us.

George Whitfield, the great Anglican preacher, it's reported, preached from John chapter 3, you must be born again over 2,000 times.

John 3 · chapter mention

You might say, well, that's a bit much.

He preached, you must be born again from John 3 over 2,000 times.

And one time somebody must have mustered up their courage and asked Dr.

Whitfield, why is it that you keep preaching, you must be born again?

His response, because you must be born again.

Until you hear it.

Until you hear it in your heart.

You must be born again.

That's why Jesus came.

God wants Jesus to become bigger and bigger inside of us.

May Jesus also grow, be birthed in us.

Has he been birthed in you?

That is my question.

Has the Holy Spirit given you a new heart?

You see, you don't find Jesus as much as Jesus finds you.

You don't just wake up one day and say, I think today I'm going to start living for Jesus.

It doesn't work that way.

Unless he comes to you, unless he gives you his spirit to open your eyes to see what you've not seen before, to open up your heart to receive a new heart, you'll never find them.

You can sing about them, but you won't find them.

God wants his son to be magnified in the preacher's heart.

He wants his son to be magnified in your heart.

And you can't do that without the Holy Spirit.

The agent of praise, the one who shows us, the one who points us, the one who gives us.

Would you have a conversation with him today?

Would you invite him in to show you what you haven't seen, to give you what you haven't had?

The last point, the power of praise.

There is power in praise.

Many of us know the familiar C.S.

Lewis quote, we were made for this.

You know, lovers don't compliment their lovers, but because they they can't help but compliment their lovers.

If you love a good book or a good movie, you never keep it to yourself, do you?

You don't.

Last great book you read, what did you do?

You reached out to your spouse or to your friend, and you said, you need to read this.

It fulfills, it completes our praise.

We need to get it out.

If it's real praise.

And the object of that praise is a real God.

We get it out.

Spurgeon said there should be a parallel between our supplications and our thanksgivings.

We should not leap in prayer and limp in praise.

That's well worth heeding.

What is your prayer life?

What is my prayer life like?

Is it all petition?

Is it 90% petition, and every once in a while we have prayers of thanksgiving?

No.

A healthy spiritual soul.

Equal parts.

Because we're not taking our eye off of where the blessings come from.

We will be known by our joy.

We will be known by our praise.

Isn't this what the city of Alexandria needs?

Isn't this what the city of Washington, D.C.

needs?

Authentically praising joyful people.

That'll get their attention.

That will get their attention.

Joy.

Not fake, not something that we work up.

Where is joy found in the book of Galatians, chapter 5?

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

Some of you know.

It's the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

It's not a personality characteristic.

Strike that.

Well, I'm just not a joyful person.

No, that's not, you can't blame it on that.

It has nothing to do with personality.

It has everything to do with the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

What the Holy Spirit is giving us and showing us, the kind of person that the Holy Spirit is making us.

It's the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Joy comes when the Holy Spirit births new life.

What is Jesus saying?

The angels in heaven rejoice every time.

Every time the one finds faith in Christ.

The angels, it's almost like, I don't know, heaven stops for a second and rejoices.

That one has come to Christ.

Joy comes when the Holy Spirit births new life.

Joy comes with humility.

Joy comes when we bow before the character of God for his mercy and for his might.

Joy comes.

The angels celebrate.

The angels have not stopped celebrating.

The angels have not stopped rejoicing.

The angels have not stopped singing.

I think they sing, I think they celebrate wherever Jesus is lifted up.

Wherever Jesus is acknowledged, wherever Jesus is taken in, the angels rejoice.

We don't celebrate what we have done for him, do we?

We don't celebrate what we've done for him.

We celebrate what he has done for us.

And so I say in closing, listen clear, closely to your singing.

Listen closely to your song.

Sharon and I were just talking about this the other day.

We're listening to some songs, and you know, it wasn't a terrible message, but we we like the tune.

Have you ever done this?

You like the tune.

You like the song, and then all of a sudden sometimes you stop and say, wait a minute, what is it saying?

Is that the message I want to hear?

What are we listening to?

Listen closely to your singing.

Listen closely to what you are saying to yourself, what you're saying to others.

We talked about this a few weeks ago.

We all have to learn how to stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves, preaching the gospel to ourselves.

We have to do that.

The birth of our Savior should make us leap for joy.

This ought to be a leaping congregation, says the man with two bad knees.

Tom, not your knees, your heart.

But if you can do it with your legs, do it with your legs.

This ought to be a leaping congregation, not a limping congregation.

What is your soul rejoicing in this season?

Will you magnify the Lord today?

This advent through our songs?

What's your song?

Mary had a song.

What's your song of God's grace in your life?

Where has God been gracious to you?

Where has God been kind to you?

Sing about it.

And even as we sing these other songs, that song in your heart can join in.

The praise from your heart can join as we celebrate this morning the birth.

He came.

And because he came, everything's different.

May it be so in us.

This Advent season.

Would you pray with me?

Father, we thank you.

That you so love this world that you gave your only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting, eternal life.

Oh, may there be births in this room this day.

May there be births in this city this season.

Oh, God, I pray, by the work of your Holy Spirit, that we will be singing the right songs with the right messages.

I pray that you will give us joy.

May we repent where there is not.

May we petition for what you would give as your fruit of your Holy Spirit to this church, in this city, to this world.

We pray to your glory, O God.

Amen.