The Visitation

Well, the good news of great joy that shines through the Christmas story is radically transformative

for those who respond to it in faith.

Of course, if you've been a Christian for very long at all, you know that to be true.

But the joy itself is actually a part of that transformation.

True joy that transcends the more basic feelings of happiness and sadness

is only experienced by individuals who, like Mary, take God at His Word

and receive by faith the person and work of Jesus Christ.

That's what we learned through the angel's announcement to Mary last week

as we begin this study in Luke chapter 1 and 2.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

The angel's message was one of God's grace and salvation,

particularly through the incarnation of Christ.

That Mary, the virgin, would conceive a child

and that this child would be the Son of God

and the Messiah born to die, actually,

providing salvation by God's grace for all who will believe and follow Him.

And Mary's total trust in this, taking God at His Word,

is reflected in her response in verse 38.

You've got your Bible open.

Just look at it there, just one verse up from where we began.

In verse 38, Mary responds by saying,

Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.

Let it be to me according to your word.

And we have in this little statement just a wonderful reflection

of what it means to respond to the gospel message in faith,

in a true saving faith.

Mary hears the Word of God.

She understands, or at least begins to understand,

the fact of the gospel as it is represented in this child that she will have.

And her response is not to shrink away from that.

Her response actually is to say,

I belong to the Lord.

I will believe Him and I will follow Him in whatever path He leads me.

In today's text, we see the beginnings of how God continues to produce gospel joy

in the lives of those who come to Him in faith.

And what's unmistakable in this passage

is that this ongoing work of God's grace

is accomplished in the context of a community of believers.

This section is about how God directed Mary to a community of faith

where she was united with people of a common belief,

common experience, and a common hope.

And of course, all of this commonality,

all of this unity is founded ultimately

on their mutual faith in the gospel of Christ.

That's what we see unfolding here with Mary and Elizabeth.

And what we find here is that this is actually evidence of God's loving kindness.

It's His tender care that is revealed as He brings Mary and Elizabeth together

in these critical moments of their lives.

Now we need to think about this for just a moment from Mary's perspective.

Remember what we talked about last week.

Mary, Mary at this point, is probably somewhere between 12 and 14 years old.

Okay, Ashlyn, this month, in two weeks, Ashlyn's going to turn 11.

Can you imagine?

Chelsea's about to turn 12.

Can you imagine Chelsea coming to church here in just a few months

and saying, hey, I've got news.

An angel came to me and said that,

though I'm a virgin, I actually have a child in my womb,

and it's actually going to be the one who saves us all from sin and hell.

And what a difficult thing that would be for Chelsea in particular

to understand that and to believe it,

but then to actually try to get anyone else to believe it as well.

That would actually be a very lonely place for her, right?

Because none of us would believe her.

Even if her parents tried to agree with the news that she was sharing,

none of us are going to believe Deborah in that either,

because we would say that's not possible.

That's not possible.

And it would be a very lonely place.

Now imagine you're Mary, and that's your exact circumstance.

She has this news that's been delivered by an angel

whom no one has seen except for Zechariah.

No one has seen in at least 400 years

any kind of prophetic word that has come directly from the Lord.

And Mary, the 12 or 13-year-old from Nazareth of all places,

is the one where he decides to appear.

That's a lonely place to be.

And what we see unfolding in this passage

is God in his providence brings Mary to Elizabeth.

And in this moment, they share a commonality of faith,

a commonality of miraculous works of God's grace in their lives.

And Mary has at least in one other person

someone she can speak to,

someone she can be encouraged by,

someone who understands her circumstance and her condition.

That's a grace of the Lord in her life.

God united them in gospel companionship,

which produced prophetic assurances

that strengthen their faith all the more.

And then this work of God overflowed in young Mary

through this dynamic worship

as she reflected on God fulfilling his promises.

And I want to suggest to you this morning

that God's kindness through joyful gospel community

is not isolated to exceptional circumstances like Mary's.

It's actually his good design for all Christians.

It's his good design for you and me as well.

If you know Christ,

if you are a follower of Jesus,

you're a true disciple of Jesus,

you can go into this world

and you can share the news

about the miracle that God is working in your life.

And most people will not believe you.

And it'll be a lonely place.

But God in his providence

brings us together

with other people

who have experienced the same miracle

of God's grace in salvation.

We call it the local church.

And with these people,

we find a commonality,

a place where our faith is encouraged and strengthened,

a place where we find true worship,

spiritual growth.

So just as the angelic announcement

of verses 26 to 38

reflect the gospel message,

Mary's visit with Elizabeth

reflects the gospel community

that God desires for us to enjoy.

This good news of great joy,

as we're calling it,

is something that we share together.

And this is a helpful passage

in reminding us of that.

Three things I want to point out to you

as we go through.

And of course,

I bit off more than I could chew with this.

We're going to have to kind of

do a very surface level approach

to this section.

But hang with me as we do that, okay?

The first thing is this.

We find gospel companionship.

Gospel companionship.

Look with me at verse 39.

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.

We can sense the excitement in Mary

as she wasted no time

in leaving Nazareth

to pay a visit to Elizabeth

in the mountains of Judea.

The fact that she made haste here,

as we see in verse 39,

made haste to get there,

shows the eagerness

with which she desired

to speak to Elizabeth.

And why is it that she wants

to go to Elizabeth?

Because the angel has just told her

in the previous passage

not only that she would be pregnant

and that her child would be

the Son of God and the Messiah,

but as a sign to assure her in that,

Gabriel says to her,

and God is doing this

in your relative Elizabeth as well.

So it's not entirely surprising

that as soon as the angel leaves,

Mary makes haste to go

and find Elizabeth

to see what is happening with her.

This trip would have taken

probably three to four days.

And you can only imagine

Mary's mind racing

all the questions

that were left unanswered

by the angel that appeared to her.

There's no mention of Mary's parents

in all of this,

which is strange, isn't it?

We don't know if they believed her.

We don't even know if she told them

what was happening.

All we know is that

within a few days

of Gabriel's announcement,

Mary had worked out a way

to travel 80 to 100 miles

to see Elizabeth.

Now the story of Zechariah

and Elizabeth

and their miraculous conception

is recorded in other parts

of the chapter.

I'll leave it to you

to read that on your own.

But here's basically the synopsis.

Zechariah was a Levite.

He was fulfilling his duty

serving in the temple

in Jerusalem.

And while he was performing

that duty,

this same angel appears to him

basically with the same message

that his wife

was going to bear a child.

Well, the problem with this,

or at least the miracle of it,

is that they were both

well beyond childbearing years

and Elizabeth had been

physically unable

to have children

her entire life.

So it's a miracle

the same way,

not in the same way

as it is with Mary.

We don't need to confuse the two.

Elizabeth was not a virgin

and Zechariah was the natural father

of their baby.

The miracle relates

to their age

and to their inability

to have a child

to begin with.

But their child

was no ordinary child either.

He would later be known

as John the Baptizer

and he would be

the prophetic forerunner

of the Messiah,

which the Old Testament

had also prophesied.

In fact,

Gabriel uses

a direct quote

from the prophet Malachi here.

Look back with me

in chapter 1.

Just look at verse 16.

You'll put your eyes

on it there.

And he will turn

many of the children

of Israel

to the Lord their God

and he will go before him

in the spirit

and power of Elijah

to turn the hearts

of the fathers

to the children

and the disobedient

to the wisdom

of the just

to make ready

for the Lord

a people prepared.

Okay,

that's a direct quotation

from the prophet Malachi.

There's other prophecies

particularly in Isaiah,

I believe,

where the prophets

had said God

had spoken through them

and said,

not only am I going

to eventually send

the Messiah,

but just before he arrives,

I'm going to send

another one.

It's not another Messiah,

another prophet.

This prophet is going

to preach

in the wilderness.

He's going to cry out

preparing the way

for the Lord Christ

to come.

He's preparing

the hearts of the people

and here comes

the angel Gabriel.

He appears to Zechariah

in the temple

and he says,

this child

will be this prophet

and he will prepare

the way

for the Christ.

Now,

what I believe

is noteworthy

about Mary's travel

to see Elizabeth

is that the scriptures

never indicate

that she was told

to go there.

The angel didn't tell her

to go see Elizabeth.

He only told her

that God was doing

a miraculous work

in Elizabeth as well.

Now,

it seems to have been

Mary's natural instinct

to seek out others

whom the angel told her

were also experiencing

God's grace.

And we can all relate

to that instinct

as we gravitate

toward people

with similar interests

and similar experiences

in life

because life was not designed

to be lived in isolation.

That's why isolation

and exile

has been considered

a judgment

and a punishment

going all the way back

to the time

that Cain murdered Abel.

All the way to today.

You get in trouble

in prison,

they send you

to isolation.

Some places

you get in trouble,

you break enough laws,

they send you

into exile.

Why?

Because life is not

meant to be lived alone.

It's not meant

to be lived

outside of community.

And so we naturally

gravitate toward people

in which we find

commonality

and we unite with them

in helping one another

through life.

But what's important

to see about Mary's

companionship

with Elizabeth

is that it was produced

by their mutual faith

in God's salvation,

specifically through the child

that was in Mary's womb.

God had not only

sent them

with good news,

messengers

with good news

of great joy,

but He was providing them

with gospel companionship

that would encourage

their hearts,

it would strengthen

their faith,

it would deepen

their worship

because God

has designed us

to function

within community.

community.

And nothing

can compare

to the kind

of companionship

that's experienced

in gospel

community

with other people

who have experienced

the same miraculous

touch of God

through Christ Jesus.

And this is exactly

what God has provided

to us in the church.

It's a wonderful grace

of the Lord

that we have one another

to share

in spiritual community

that's based

on our union

with Christ.

And if you're a Christian,

you've experienced

this work

and He desires

to continue

His work

in your life

through the local church.

The blessing

of Mary

and Elizabeth's

companionship

reflects

what we have together

in Christ.

And we should be

just as eager

as Mary

to do

as they did.

To unite together.

To be together.

To encourage

one another.

To help

one another.

You say,

how do we

actually do that?

How do we

prioritize that?

How do we

show this

eagerness

and live this

out in our lives?

There's lots of ways

that we do that.

One way

is that we

eagerly

make the trip.

Just like Mary did.

She wastes

no time

she sets

aside

everything else.

She's in the process

of preparing

for marriage.

That was an important

time in her life.

She sets

aside

these other things

and she makes

haste

to get to

where Elizabeth is.

I think there's

a picture in that

for us.

What do we do

as believers?

We set aside

the other things

of our life

that would get

in the way

of this

and we eagerly

make the trip.

We prioritize

the gathering

of God's people.

Particularly

in Sunday worship.

But of course

whenever we have

other opportunities

to do this

as well.

We prioritize

one another.

Prioritize time

with one another.

We work out

our schedules

to prioritize

worship.

Not find a place

to fit it in

if it works out.

We share

the work of God.

We talk to one

another about it.

Here's what the

Lord's doing

in my life.

Here's a joy

that He has brought

to my life

this week.

Here's a way

that He's

disciplining

me right now.

We sharpen

one another

in that way.

We rejoice

through worship.

Not only

in our

Sunday gatherings

we rejoice

in worship

when we go

and sit at coffee

and we reflect

on the goodness

of God

in our lives.

We lift our voices

in praise

and in prayer

to the Lord

through that.

We have gospel

companionship

reflected here.

Number two,

we see prophetic

assurances.

Prophetic

assurances.

So the good

news of Jesus

brought great

joy to Elizabeth

which reassured

Mary's heart.

That's what we

find here.

One of the

benefits of this

gospel companionship

is that God

uses other

believers to

help us.

Mary had already

demonstrated faith

in God's Word.

We read that

just a moment

ago.

But there's no

doubt that she

would have been

seeking some

reassurance

and clarity

from Elizabeth's

experience.

Isn't that the

whole reason

that the angel

even told her

about Elizabeth?

Of course.

There's two ways

that God

used this

encounter

to speak

prophetic

assurances

to Mary's

young heart.

The first one

is through

John's prophecy.

Look with me

at verses

41 and 44.

Verse 41,

when Elizabeth

heard the greeting

of Mary,

the baby

leaped

in her womb.

Now look

down at verse

44.

This is how

Elizabeth reflects

on that.

For behold,

when the sound

of your greeting

came to my ears,

the baby

in my womb

leaped

for joy.

Now this may

come as a shock

to you,

but I have

never

personally

been pregnant.

I don't

know what

it's like

to feel

a baby's

kick

in my body.

I've only

been able

to experience

that through

Julie,

which is a

unique experience,

but not in the

same way

that it was

for her.

Many of you

have experienced

this before.

We'd love to see

all these

children with us.

Many of you

have experienced

this many times

before.

Every mother

knows it.

She knows

what this is

like,

but there's

something unique

about what

Elizabeth felt

that day.

This wasn't

just any

ordinary

kick

in Elizabeth's

belly.

Otherwise,

Luke wouldn't

have bothered

to mention it,

and she

wouldn't have

bothered to

interpret it

the way

that she did.

There was

a prophet

in Elizabeth's

belly,

and this

was his

first prophecy.

When Mary

greeted Elizabeth,

the Spirit

of God

produced this

joyous leap.

That's what

Elizabeth said.

He leapt

for joy.

This was

an emotional

response from

the fetus

in Elizabeth's

belly,

which,

just as a

side note,

is another

reflection of

the Bible

stance on

the personhood

of children

who are still

in their

mother's

bellies.

From what I

understand,

the custom

of that day

required particular

forms of

greetings.

Mary would

have had a

particular greeting

that showed

great deference

and respect

for Elizabeth

as an elder

and as a

respected person

in their community

and perhaps

even in their

family.

But then

John leaps

in her belly

indicating that

John in this

moment is

showing that

the one who

really deserves

the deference,

the one who

really deserves

the reverence

and respect

is actually

the young

child in

Mary's

womb.

And it's

this joyous

announcement

of the

Messiah

that would

mark

John's

ministry.

John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1 and

verse 6,

there was a

man sent

from God

whose name

was John.

He came

as a

witness

to bear

witness

about the

light

that all

might believe

through him.

He was

not the

light

but came

to bear

witness

about the

light.

And what

is John

doing

from his

earliest

moments

in his

mother's

womb?

He's

bearing

witness

about

the

light.

And of

course,

this carries

on into

adulthood.

In John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3,

John says

this,

John the

baptizer,

the one

who has

the bride

is the

bridegroom.

The friend

of the

bridegroom,

that's what

he was

calling,

referring to

himself about,

who stands

and hears

him,

rejoices

greatly at

the bridegroom's

voice.

Therefore,

this joy

of mine

is now

complete.

He must

increase,

but I

must

decrease.

From

Elizabeth's

wombs,

John is

already doing

this.

Mary shows

up with

the Messiah

in her

womb.

John leaps

for joy,

bearing witness

of the

light.

The Savior

has come.

He wasn't

bearing witness

of his own

miraculous

conception.

He was

bearing witness

of the

miraculous

conception

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

John's

purpose was

to point

everyone to

Jesus,

and he was

fulfilling

that purpose

before he

had even

been born.

born.

Now,

what amazing

assurance

this must

have been

for Mary.

At this

point in

Mary's

pregnancy,

it hasn't

been long

enough,

probably,

hasn't been

long enough

for her to

even experience

the nausea

and the

sickness that

comes along

with being

pregnant.

She made

great haste

to get to

Elizabeth after

this angel

appeared.

This may be

within a

week of

Gabriel's

appearance to

her.

She may be

still wondering

with doubts

in her mind,

is this really

true, or am I

just going crazy

right now?

And then when

she shows up

and she finds

Elizabeth, she

sees that the

work that God

is doing in

Elizabeth has a

way of producing

assurance,

for the work

that God is

doing in her

own heart and

in her own

life.

And isn't this

the blessing of

what God does

for us?

He brings us

together in

gospel companionship

and then what we

find is just in

the moments of

our lives where

we're really

beginning to

doubt, we're

really beginning

to wonder, is

this really all

true?

Can I really

trust and take

God at His

word in this

way?

And then we

get along with

another believer

and we listen to

how God is using

their life and

the Lord uses

that to

encourage our

own hearts, to

strengthen our

own faith.

And of course,

that's exactly

what is happening

with Mary.

But it's not just

John's prophecy,

it's Elizabeth's

prophecy as well.

Look at verse

42.

Elizabeth was

filled with the

Holy Spirit and

she exclaimed with

a loud cry,

blessed are you

among women,

blessed is the

fruit of your

womb.

And why is this

granted to me?

that the mother

of my Lord

should come to

me?

Before Mary even

had a chance to

explain what was

happening, the

Spirit of God

causes Elizabeth

to speak as if

she already knew

it all.

Notice what she

says.

She reiterated

Mary's blessedness.

That's what the

angel had told

Mary.

She acknowledged

her pregnancy.

She even

understood the

child to be

the Messiah.

Listen to her

words.

Why is this

granted to me

that the

mother of my

Lord should

come to me?

Surely this

exhilarated

Mary's heart.

Surely this

began to dispel

doubts that

were in her

mind that maybe

have crept into

her mind as she

traveled to

Judea.

And I think

what Mary

experiences here

with Elizabeth

is how God

intends for us

to help one

another.

We all

demonstrate our

faith in

Christ as

individuals, but

it is a

wonderful

encouragement to

gather with

Christians to

hear and see

how God is

working.

We have all

of these one

another commands

in the Bible.

We have these

moments where

the Lord uses

people to

confirm God's

work on our

lives.

Have you ever

experienced that

before?

We talked about

it in our

anniversary service

just a couple

of weeks ago.

One of the

things that is

so helpful to

me on the

days when I'm

really struggling

or the days when

I'm doubting or

wondering, did we

do this whole

church plant thing

just because Jared

wanted to be the

boss or was

tired of listening

to Jonathan or

just wanted to do

his own thing or

just needed a

change in his

life?

And then I can

go back to that

box of letters

that I have in

my office and I

can begin to read

those letters and

it just is a

helpful reminder to

me that yes, the

Lord was doing a

work in my life

in that process,

but there is an

amazing comfort that

comes from knowing

that that work was

affirmed by other

believers, that God

was doing his work

in me through others.

That's what's

happening for Mary.

I think he desires

for that to happen

with us.

Look at verse 45.

Verse 45.

Blessed is she who

believed that there

would be a

fulfillment of what

was spoken to her

from the Lord.

I love that all

these kids are in

here this morning and

I don't want them to

go away.

And this point is for

these children because

I want you to think

about what's happening

here.

This final portion of

Elizabeth's prophecy

is a formal

beatitude.

It's a beatitude

that's recognizing

Mary's faith.

Now this would have

had incredible

significance to

Elizabeth and to

Zechariah because

Zechariah did not

initially believe the

word of God.

In fact, he spends

the duration of

Elizabeth's pregnancy

mute.

God took his voice

away because he

doubted the message

of the angel.

He didn't believe the

word of the Lord.

And it was only

after John's birth

that he gets that

back.

This would have been a

significant statement

that as this man who

has spent his whole

life, a godly man,

that's what Luke says

in chapter 1, he's

godly, he's righteous,

he spent his life

serving the Lord in

the temple as a

Levite, doing everything

that God had asked him

to do, trusting the

promises of God.

But in this moment and

in this circumstance,

it was 12 and 13

year old Mary that

actually was the one

that believed the

word of God, not

Zechariah.

The statement is a

reminder that God is

pleased to bless those

who take him at his

word rather than those

who attempt to earn

his favor.

Hebrews 11, without

faith it's impossible

to please him.

For whoever would draw

near to God must believe

that he exists and that

he rewards those who

seek him.

But it's also a

reminder that age and

experience are not

prerequisites for

profound faith.

In fact, in our fallen

state, age and

experience can actually

become giant obstacles

to faith.

The longer we exist in

this flesh, the greater

our propensity for

self-reliance, self-

assurance, self-

guidance.

This is the reason that

Jesus said that if

you're going to be his

disciple, you must come

to him like a child,

trusting entirely in him

for salvation, trusting

entirely in him for

safety and security,

that his purposes will be

fulfilled in us in just

the way that God

intends.

And to insist that age

and experience is

necessary for genuine

faith is to deny the

reality of Mary's

trusting God here.

Now, I recognize she

wasn't a toddler, and

I'm not trying to draw

that particular

parallel.

I'm just saying that

it's pretty remarkable

that a young teenager

would demonstrate such

genuine faith.

No, she hasn't had

enough experience in

her life to really be

tested with whatever the

systems of the world

were.

She didn't understand

how to argue all the

things that maybe she

would need to argue as

she becomes an adult and

grows deeper in her

theological perspectives.

She wasn't there yet,

but she still had a

genuine faith, a

genuine faith that the

Bible then says was

blessed of the Lord.

It was genuine.

It was authentic.

It was not complete.

It was not thorough.

But it was real.

And I think we need to

remember that with our

children.

At this age, they cannot

understand all the things

that they need to

understand.

They can't argue positions

in the way that they'll

have to argue positions as

they grow older.

But they don't need to go

through the greatest

doubts of their life to

know that their faith is

real or to even be able

to have a real faith.

That's not the teaching

of the Bible.

They don't have to wait

to go through the worst

experiences in life to

know whether or not this

is all real and whether

it's true and whether

they're going to believe

it.

It's actually the opposite.

They need to establish

this now.

Kent Hughes said the

church must never make

the mistake of minimizing

or patronizing its youth.

Children must be taken

seriously.

Teenagers must be

intelligently challenged.

The church must invest

deeply in the spiritual

nurture and discipling

of its young.

That's something we need

to lay as a foundation

now as a people.

All of these kids are

going to be teenagers

before long.

Chelsea and Ashlyn and

Clementine are on the

cusp of it already.

And if they can go and

sit through a calculus

class in high school,

surely we can do better

than God told Noah to

build and Arky, Arky,

or whatever the songs are

that sometimes we sing,

it needs to take them

serious.

This thing goes for the

home.

Mary's faith was likely

the product of faithful

parents who are committed

to raising their children

in the nurture and

admonition of the Lord.

And Elizabeth is right.

The one who believes the

word of God will be

blessed by God.

And we all know how

strong the temptation to

doubt the Lord grows as we

age.

So we need to commit to

taking seriously the

discipling of our

children.

And then we need to go to

them and we need to learn

from them because there's a

lot we can learn from Mary,

a child, in this passage.

Gospel companionship,

prophetic assurances,

finally we'll be finished,

word-based worship.

Word-based worship.

These final verses,

verses 46 to 55,

they record what many

refer to as the very first

Christmas song.

We know for sure that its

contents composed one of the

earliest Christian hymns.

It's called the

Magnificent.

Perhaps the title given to

the paragraph in your Bible

maybe even says that, the

Magnificent.

That term comes from the

Latin translation of the

very first phrase, my soul

magnifies the Lord.

And like with all things

related to the Virgin Mary,

it's been misused by the

Roman Catholic tradition.

But we shouldn't let the

abuse of one group rob the

rest of us of its

significance in Christian

prayer and worship.

In fact, we do have a

tendency to do that from

time to time, don't we?

We understand as

Protestants that there is

something vastly different,

necessarily different between

us and Roman Catholicism and

some of the Orthodox

churches as well.

But we need to be careful

that we don't rob ourselves

of genuine, helpful,

uplifting tradition just

because it also is utilized in

some fashion in these other

churches.

The Magnificent is one of

those things.

We need to learn from it.

We need to examine it.

We could spend weeks really

examining it.

We're not going to do that.

In fact, I'm not even going

to read it.

I'm going to let you read it

again.

We've read it once already.

I'll let you read it on

your own time.

I just want to kind of do

a flyover of it as it

connects to the larger

context of this passage.

Okay?

Martin Luther said,

At home in my own house,

there is no warmth or

vigor in me.

But in the church, when the

multitude is gathered

together, a fire is

kindled in my heart and it

breaks its way through.

Now, I'm certain that

Luther had magnificent

moments of private worship

during his life.

There is no doubt about

that.

But his experience here and

what he says is actually

generally true for all of

us.

If you've ever attended a

professional sporting event,

if you're into that kind of

thing, there is a

difference between the way

that I cheer for the New

York Yankees in my living

room by myself or with

Julie, who doesn't care

about it, versus when I'm

actually in Yankee

Stadium in the South

Bronx and there's 55,000

people who have gathered

around me.

And I got to be, several

years ago, I was with my

brother and a friend, Ken

Baker.

We went and it just

happened to be Bernie

Williams night.

They were retiring this

stuff and putting them in

Monument Park.

It was Derek Jeter's first

night back to Yankee

Stadium since he retired.

And I've never heard a

play so loud in my life.

The game hasn't even

started yet.

And we're sitting in the

stands and the place is

deafeningly loud only

because Derek Jeter is

there.

Now, there's a

commonality in what's

happening between all

those people.

They're all there because

they love the Yankees.

And when they're together,

there is a difference in

the way that they cheer

than if I had been sitting

in my living room and

watching these pregame

rituals unfold.

You know what this is

like.

Our worship can be like

this sometimes.

There are unique moments

that we have in private

worship where the Lord is

working in us and we are

blessed beyond measure.

But there is a difference

between doing that in our

living rooms alone and when

we come together as God's

people and we sing his

praise together and we

reflect on his word

together.

That's what Luther's

getting at.

That is a part of what I

think is happening here for

Mary.

She's not alone now.

She's gone to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth has done this

work and explained this work

of God and it's uplifted her

heart.

It's encouraged her.

She has this assurance and

what that then produces in

Mary is this dynamic worship.

Now when you bring together a

group of individuals whose

unity is based on the union

that they find in Christ and

then you add to that that God's

spirit indwells each and every

one of them in a powerful way,

we should expect nothing less

than passionate worship that is

so reflected in Mary's prayer.

Every Sunday when we come

together, when we sing our

songs, when we read the words,

when we pray together, it

should have the passion and the

vigor because we have exactly

what Mary had.

We have companionship.

We have assurances.

We have the spirit of God in

our lives and that should be

reflected in the way that we

worship.

But the thing I want to point

out and I want you to notice

about Mary's worship before we

finish is that it's all based on

the scriptures.

It was the Bible that shaped

her heart and informed her

worship.

It was her dual sense of use of

soul and spirit that shows her

desire to give her whole self to

God in ways that mirror God's

command to love him with all our

heart and our soul and our mind

and our strength.

She made a direct allusion to the

prayer of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1,

applying God's word to her own

experience.

She recognized the mercy of God

for the humble and the judgment

of God against the proud in the

same exact way that the Psalms do.

She praised God for his

faithfulness to the promises given

to Abraham and through the

prophets in the Old Testament.

All of this is what makes up

Mary's song.

Now critics will use the content

of Mary's prayer to deny its

authenticity.

They assert that an illiterate

13-year-old girl from Nazareth would

never be able to praise in such a

way that is so richly theological.

But what they fail to acknowledge is

that every young Israelite knew by

heart the biblical songs of Hannah,

Deborah, of David, these passages

were memorized.

They were regularly utilized in

Sabbath worship and on the feast

days.

Kent Hughes again says Mary's mind

was full of scripture and sacred

phraseology from what she heard both

in the synagogue and at home.

So when the Holy Spirit came upon her,

he took what she had and wove it into

his hallowed tapestry.

The magnificent, he says,

was a poignant, profound, divine

human composition.

It was nothing less.

Mary's prayer models the way that

every Christian should worship.

The scriptures should shape and

inform our words in private and in

corporate worship.

The more we know and study them,

the easier it will be to view life in

light of what God has said.

And what could give God more pleasure

than when his people passionately

worship him with his own inerrant,

infallible, and authoritative words?

Amazing worship.

Word-based worship.

Now Mary's visit to Elizabeth is a

beautiful picture of God's grace.

He unites us together.

He assures our hearts.

We teach one another through the word

and the result is dynamic worship

as we sing his words back to him.

But the foundation of this community

is faith in Christ.

Too many people attempt to find the

great joy without the good news.

But they've got that backwards.

You can never experience the everlasting

joy that's promised at Christmas

until you believe in and follow

the Christ of Christmas.

And when you come to faith in Jesus,

you'll find that his joy is abundant,

that he lavishes it on us in ways

we would never have imagined.

And that includes the glorious grace

that we find in the local church.

Companionship.

All centered on the gospel.

The good news of great joy.