Song of Grace

If I took out a magnifying glass, came over to you and to your house and to your life and to your family

and applied that magnifying glass to you, what would be the biggest things in your life?

If you went through my life about 10 years ago, the biggest things in my life were probably martial arts.

I loved martial arts. I did martial arts. I watched martial art movies. I would talk about it.

I would argue about which martial art was the best. I have strong opinions about that.

We can fight later. That's okay. Not literally. It's okay.

It was important. It was what I was focused on and it was a very large part of my life.

And then I had kids and the martial arts kind of had to be pushed to one side.

The kids became one of the biggest things in my life.

If you stopped in any vicinity near me, I would tell you stories about them.

I would show you photos. I would tell you how funny and cute and silly and how amazing they are at all these kinds of things.

What is your life focused on?

If I took that magnifying glass to your life, what would be the biggest things in your life?

Is it your family? Your friends? Health? Education? Your loves? Your passions? Your hobbies?

When people think about you, what is the first kind of image?

You know, when people are thinking and planning what to get you for Christmas,

I'm hoping there's somebody thinking and planning to get you something for Christmas.

What are they thinking?

Are they thinking, you know, that Tom, do you know what?

He really needs an ugly Christmas sweater.

You know, he really needs Kanye West's new album.

You know, that man needs these things.

What do people think about when they think of us?

What have we turned our lives towards so that when people see us, they see this as the biggest part of our lives?

We all have things in our lives that we magnify because they make us who we are.

They give us meaning and significance.

We can feel valued because I have a job.

I'm the guy who loves martial arts.

I'm the guy with these three kids.

Now, I'm not that unique.

I've got kids.

I'm not that unique.

I'm not unique in that I was into martial arts.

But how do we decide about the things that we choose to magnify in our lives?

How do we decide?

Do we actually sit down and think, I'm going to be this type of person?

Or do we just stumble into magnifying certain things in our lives?

And so if we all do it, a question that we need to ask is, why this thing?

Am I chasing this because it brings me significance?

Is this really what should define who I am?

It's Christmas time.

I'm excited for Christmas.

Is anybody else excited for Christmas?

I'm really enjoying singing with you today, particularly that end of amazing grace where it was just our voices.

It was a delight to sing with you.

And so this season, we're going to spend a little bit of time looking at some of the songs in the lead up to Christmas.

Today, we're looking at a song known as the Magnificat.

It's Mary's song.

And in this song, Mary calls us to make God the largest in our lives.

To magnify him.

All because of God's grace towards us.

This 15-year-old girl living in a backwater town is going to challenge us to make God the biggest thing in our lives.

As we are loved by him, let that be what defines us as people.

So as we have a look at this song, let me pray for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, that we can be gathering, that we can be singing with our voices loudly in praise to you.

Father, as we consider the things that we magnify in our lives, Father, be placing that magnifying glass on us.

Fill us with your spirit, that we would carefully consider what we value in our lives, so that we can value you more and more.

Amen.

We meet up with Mary in the Christmas story after she is pregnant with Jesus.

She has visited her cousin, Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist.

And Elizabeth calls her blessed because she carries Jesus in her womb.

She's been chosen by God to carry Jesus.

And responding to all that God has already done in her life, choosing her to carry Jesus, she sings a song.

So please have your Bibles open.

Please be bringing your Bible with you.

Have your phone.

If your phone is a distraction, make sure you put it on airplane mode.

Turn off notifications that might ding in the middle to distract you.

And we're in Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

Mary sings,

Mary sings,

Mary starts by singing with all that she is.

She sings with her soul and her spirit.

She is singing from the very depths of herself.

This is not just a polite,

I thank you God for letting me be the mother of Jesus.

But she praises God from the beginning of this song with all that she has to the very depths of her being.

And she glorifies the Lord.

Now I don't often dive too deep into the original words in the Bible,

but I found one word fascinating in this study.

The word for glorify comes from the Greek word megaluni.

There's your new Greek word of the day, megaluni,

which is this idea of magnifying, making something mega.

Megaluni, to make something mega.

And it was translated into Latin as magnificat.

And so that is where we get the name for this song from, magnificat.

And so Mary sings,

wanting to megaluni,

to magnify,

to make God mega

with the very depths of her soul.

But while we have the word magnify here,

this is not like a magnifying glass.

A magnifying glass takes something that is small

and makes it larger.

It megalunizes it.

It makes it bigger before our eyes.

If you remember being a kid with a magnifying glass,

I would always point it at ants,

much to my shame.

And all of a sudden,

this tiny thing would become expanded in your view.

But that is not what Mary is doing.

She is not wanting to make the small God bigger before her.

God is infinite.

He is already mega.

Mary is reflecting on how great he is,

how majestic and awesome.

And she wants God to be mega in her life.

But why?

Why?

Why should God be the biggest thing in Mary's life?

As a young, pregnant, unmarried woman,

there are many other big priorities in her life.

Getting married to Joseph,

building a house,

having food,

having some stability in life.

She's just about to be a new mom.

And I know what it's like to be a new dad,

and that's hard enough.

New mom,

trying to take care of God himself.

There are all kinds of big pressures on her life,

calling to be the most important thing.

And yet,

she wants God to be the biggest.

God to be mega in her life.

She wants God to be the biggest.

God is what she wants her entire life to magnify.

And that's all because Mary is self-aware.

She knows who she is,

and she knows who God is.

And she knows which of these two really should be the biggest.

Mary is rejoiced in God, my Savior.

She doesn't see herself as the offspring of immaculate conception.

Mary doesn't see that she's perfect,

because only a sinner needs a Savior.

But her song also comes from a place of questioning.

God, I want you to be the biggest thing in my life,

but why me?

Of all people.

Verse 48.

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.

Mary is just another young girl,

in a backwater town,

in a captive nation.

And yet God chose the unworthy.

He was mindful of her.

God has taken out the magnifying glass,

and he zoomed in on this young girl.

The God of the infinite universe,

who is holding all things together by his will,

causing the sun to rise and to set,

holding gravity,

and listening to billions of hearts beat at the same time.

This great God has this young,

insignificant girl in his mind.

God has lifted her up out of obscurity.

And so Mary wants to magnify this God in her life,

to make him mega,

because of God's grace to her.

Grace.

God's unmerited love and favor.

That he would not only be mindful of her,

but that he would choose to give her a crucial role

in the plans for salvation of the world.

This is a song of unmerited grace.

Verse 50,

His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

She knows her place before God.

This song reveals her humility,

and her lowliness.

And these are both marks of somebody who has stood before God,

fully aware of their sins,

what they deserve,

and how they have received mercy.

She knows that she deserves nothing good from God.

Can you imagine if she was the opposite?

Can you imagine that if Mary was expecting good things from God?

You see that over-inflated person who is full of pride,

where they have become mega in their own eyes.

Can you imagine if Mary had said,

Oh yeah, no, I actually deserve to be the mother of Jesus.

I am going to be the best mother of Jesus.

I'm going to be better than anybody.

You've picked me,

and you're lucky you picked me,

because I'm going to really fix up this whole Israel situation.

God, I deserve your favor.

When we see this kind of arrogance and pride,

it is distasteful.

We can find it repugnant.

Who is this person to speak like that?

And yet we can also struggle to sing a song like Mary's,

where we ask that question,

Who am I before you, Lord,

that you would choose to have favor on me?

At some level,

we can struggle thinking that we deserve good from God.

Mary's song calls us to be in awe of God's gift,

especially because we don't deserve it.

Why would you save me?

God, why have you been mindful of me?

God, you are mighty,

but why are you mighty for me?

Verse 49,

It's not a full stop there.

He has done great things for me,

this little person.

One of my favorite things to do in life

is to look at the stars.

Anybody else enjoy looking at the stars?

I really struggle living in a city looking at the stars,

because there is so much light pollution,

that you look at the stars and it's like,

Oh, look,

I can see five stars tonight.

You know,

I don't know what God was talking about with Abraham.

I can count these stars right now.

One of my favorite things to do

is when I get out of the city

and get far away to actually,

you know,

late at night,

to look at the sky

and just to stand in awe

at the stars.

The reality is

that those stars are all around us right now.

I just can't see it.

And even now,

I can't see it

because there's too much light from the sun.

This awesome and powerful

and mega luni,

this mega God,

is around us at all times.

And he focuses on us.

He is mindful of us

and that Jesus died for us

and yet,

so often,

we can miss out on seeing this

because there is so much pollution around us.

Not light pollution,

but busyness.

Our eyes can be deceived by our own sin.

But Mary's song is a reminder

that God knows us.

He is mindful of us.

And we need to continue to sing this song to our hearts.

To actually take time

to cast our eyes to God,

to go out to the country

as we would,

to look at the stars,

to actually take a moment

and be in awe of God's bigness.

That God would make

this universe,

and we can only see a speck of it,

that it would go on

for infinity.

But God has that much love

for us.

to take a moment

and think,

this God

of the universe,

he is mindful of me.

That Jesus died for me.

That not only is he mighty,

but he is mighty

for you.

How much then

should we want to magnify

this God in our souls?

God's grace causes Mary

to want to magnify him

because he has been

mindful of us.

Mary continues to sing

about how great this God is,

that he lifts up the lowly

and not just those

who are full of pride,

not just the rich,

not just those

who are mega

in their own eyes.

And we see Mary singing

of the justice

that God brings.

This God is great.

He isn't biased.

He treats the lowly

and humble with love

and grace.

He lifts them up.

And now Mary sings

of what God does

with those

who see themselves

as great.

Verse 51.

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.

God scatters

those who are proud

in their inmost thoughts.

Pride

competes

with God

for glory.

It's a competition

for who is going

to be the greatest.

Pride in our hearts

refuses to acknowledge

that God is sovereign.

And especially

when our eyes

are clouded

with the light pollution

of busyness

and sin

to see God

as great,

pride fills us up.

And when we are

full of pride,

our lives look different.

Mary is singing

comparing

what is going

on in her heart.

She is making God

the greatest

in her soul

and spirit,

whereas the pride

of others

is filling up

their hearts.

The hidden places

magnify themselves.

We all battle it.

We all can have

an inflated sense

of what we deserve.

I think about Christmas.

I've had a number

of conversations

with people

in my own family,

with friends,

about expectations

of what Christmas

Day will look like.

Which family

do we go and see?

What do we do

on Christmas Day?

When do we do presents?

Who's making the food?

Who's making the roast?

Who's bringing this?

And it is just

a time that is fraught

with pride

and comparison.

I have this expectation.

I have to do this.

It has to look like this

or Christmas

will not be great.

It can be a time

of pride

where we think

I am the greatest

and it has to look

like this.

But God

hates pride.

He has lifted up Mary.

She knew her humble

place before God

and yet God

scatters the proud.

It's an act

of judgment.

God did it

when mankind

got ahead of themselves

and built themselves

up quite literally

into the tower

of Babel.

Full of pride

they thought

they could ascend

to heaven

and yet God

scattered them.

When Israel

was full of pride

and thought that

Jerusalem would

never fall

and they continued

to sin against him

God scattered

Israel.

God brings down

those who are wise

in their own eyes.

He sends away

those who are rich.

the call

of Christmas

is our desperate

need for God

to save us.

And he had to

directly intervene

in that situation.

God had to take

off his Godhood

his divinity

and become

a person

to limit himself

to become

a humble man.

And if we attempt

to make ourselves

greater than him

we'll have no part

in his salvation.

The powerful

and wealthy

are inclined

to pride

so God

sends them

away empty.

We continue

to see this

in the world

today how

world leaders

and government

officials

indulge in

luxury.

They give grants

to each other

and money.

They swell

with pride

and can be

intoxicated

with the spoils

of their prosperity.

And Mary sings

that God brings

down those rulers

from their thrones

but she also

calls us

to see

that God

is the greatest

that he should

be the one

that is magnified.

It can seem

like the world

runs on riches

and people's money

but Mary reminds us

that God

is actually sovereign.

God is actually

in control

over all of these.

The great

and rich

and powerful

face the temptation

to lift themselves

up to praise

themselves before God

but this is not

just for those

on thrones

and those

who are mega rich.

Mary's call

is for us

to be hyper aware

to be on guard

that we don't

chase these things

to.

Mary's hymn

is a song

of the powerless

and not the proud.

It's a song

not of expectations

but God's

unexpected grace.

In this whole song

God is the one

who is the subject

of all the verbs.

God is the one

who does the actions.

God is the one

who acts.

Just have a look

with me.

Flick through it

with me.

God is the saviour.

God is mindful

of his servants.

God is the mighty one

who does great things.

God is the one

who extends mercy.

God is the one

who performs

mighty deeds.

God brings down rulers.

God lifts up

the humble.

God fills the hungry.

God sends away

the rich.

God is the one

who helps his servant.

God is the one

who acts.

God is the one

who acts.

God is the one

who acts.

God is the one

who acts.

All religions

in the world

are about what

we do

but the story

of Christmas

reminds us

that it is about

what God has done.

It's not about

what we do

whether I have to be

meditating

to give up

worldly attachments,

act in the right way

to please God

or continue

to go to temple

or church,

follow the right

cultic practices,

to be the sinner

who has to go

from low to high,

from sinner to saint.

Mary's song

flips all that.

Flips the cultural

expectations,

the social expectations.

God is the one

who acts.

He sees our needs

and he starts

a revolution

that reorders reality.

The highest of highs

the great

and mighty God

intercedes

for the lowest

of low,

this young woman

and calls

her blessed.

God ignores

those on thrones,

those who are rich

and important

and he is mindful

of the humble

and lowly.

The almighty

restructures

cosmic reality

for the

un-mighty.

The God

of the magnificent

stands with the

small and weak

and he magnifies

them.

This Christmas,

let's not move

too quickly past

Mary's amazement

that God

would choose her.

God had spent

centuries preparing

for the day

when Jesus would

come and now

he's going to

save the world

using an un-married

young girl.

Mary's words

in that song

should be ours.

He has been

humble of the

mindful state

of his servant.

He has been

mindful of me,

the great one

has done

great things

for me.

He has not

just done

good,

not even

great,

but mighty

things for

me

and for you.

How can we

get to Christmas

and not sit

in this note

of joy

and astonishment

that God

would choose

to bless

me,

that he would

choose to

bless you?

we should

all be like

Mary,

amazed that

God would

work in

us.

We are like

Mary.

Mary literally

received Christ

and carried

Christ in

her,

but for

everyone who

puts faith

in Jesus,

we are like

Mary in

that we

receive Jesus

by the Holy

Spirit and we

carry him

with us.

we should

be floored

that God

would give

us with

all our

smallness

and our

flaws

and our

issues of

pride

this great

gift.

We should

never move

too far

from this

astonishment.

This is the

heart of the

Christian gospel,

that God

would have

grace that

he would

choose me.

When we

are astonished

by this

grace,

it kills

our pride.

it kills

our demands

of God.

It kills

our religious

doing of

things to

please God

and we

are left

in awe

and surprise

and wonder.

Let me

encourage you

to go out

into the

country this

week.

Now I

don't literally

mean go

and find,

go for a

drive out to

Orange or

something,

unless of

course you'd

like to do

that.

Find a

patch before

Christmas.

Find a

place to

sit and

be in

awe of

the God

of the

universe.

To prepare

our hearts

for Christmas,

the reminder

that Jesus

would come,

that God

has done

mighty

things for

me.

So that

we can

magnify

God.

This

Christmas

let's

magnify

God in

our lives,

not just

to have

a nativity

scene in

a small

corner of

the house,

but to

have

Jesus

front and

center in

our lives.

Have you

ever set

something on

fire with

a magnifying

glass?

I know I

certainly

have.

I kind of

feel I need

to go and

find another

magnifying

glass and

show my

kids how

it works.

I don't

necessarily

want to

start a

bushfire in

summer.

There's just

something

satisfying about

starting a

fight.

Anyway,

I can talk

about that

later.

But a

magnifying

glass in

and of

itself,

it has

no power,

no fire,

no flame,

no light

in itself.

But when

you take

that magnifying

glass and

you turn it

on the

right angle,

it magnifies

the sun's

rays and

it ignites.

It causes

a reaction.

Brothers and

sisters,

we have no

power on

our own,

but we

are like

a magnifying

glass in

God's

hands that

he uses to

focus and

direct his

power.

This

Christmas,

as we face

the temptation

to pride,

to greed,

to high

expectations,

let me

call you

to let

God be

the greatest

thing in

your life.

When we

do that,

when we

allow God

to be the

biggest in

our life,

God turns

us to

be like

him.

When we

turn our

face to

him,

God uses

us to

focus his

power through

and so

that when

people see

us,

they don't

just see a

person who

likes martial

arts or a

person who

has three

kids that he

also likes,

but people

see the

great God

of the

universe

and that

it would

cause a

reaction in

people's

hearts,

that love

would flow

out from

us,

mercy and

God's

grace would

extend through

us because

we get the

chance to

magnify the

great God

of the

world.

Turn away

from the

things that

trap us,

turn to

God so

that he

would be

magnified in

us and

through us

to all the

people around

us.

Let me

pray.

Dear

Heavenly

Father,

we thank

you so

much,

Lord,

that you

would be

mindful of

us,

that you

have done

great things

in your

Son,

that because

of Jesus

we can

see your

unmerited

and undeserved

grace.

Heavenly

Father,

as we

head towards

Christmas,

end of

year and

all of the

busy things

that come,

Father,

we ask

that we

would turn

our face

to you,

that you

would be

magnified in

us and

through us

for your

glory.

We ask

this in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.