Christmas Week 2 • Luke 1:36-56

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Well, good morning.

Glad that you guys are here with us.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to Luke chapter 1, and I want to emphasize

Luke 1 · chapter mention

a couple of announcements that you just heard.

First is our CR Christmas concert.

That's this Thursday from 6.30 to 8.30, all right?

It is going to be held in the parking lot.

I'm excited to be able to be there and to be a part of this, bring you a bag chair, bring

you some hot chocolate.

Maybe it'll be anywhere, but it'll be somewhere between 90 and 30 degrees because it's South

Carolina, all right?

And so bring you something and just sit back, and we've got a talented group of musicians

who are going to perform a bunch of different types of Christmas music.

And so I guarantee you there'll be something there that you'll enjoy, and so come out and

join us.

But then also, I don't know if you guys remember or not, but we did a blood drive right after

we shut down, I believe.

I think it was like April or May of last year.

We did one, and the Red Cross reached back out to us because they're at that time where

they desperately need more blood and asked if we would host another one, and so we are.

We're hosting one tomorrow.

And so you can go online to Red Cross.

You can either search our name or search our zip code and be a part of that.

They wanted us to let you know if you're curious, if you've had COVID or if you have the COVID

antibody, that they do run that COVID antibody test.

And so that's a great way to find that out and to help others.

So if you can't make tomorrow, I was on the website the other day, and I want to say there

are several churches in our area.

So if that doesn't work for you tomorrow, then make sure you have that opportunity to do that.

So we are in Luke chapter 1.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

We're going to read another encounter with Mary this morning.

But what we're going to talk about today is we're going to talk about pride.

So pride's going to be kind of at the root of the message this morning of what we're going

to discuss.

Now, as we talk about that, I want to acknowledge that pride, if that's a sin that you struggle

with, all right, it is a hard sin to recognize within yourself, all right?

It's an easy sin maybe for others to recognize, but it's a hard sin for you to recognize within

you that you struggle with pride.

Like, if someone struggles with greed, right?

Greedy people typically know that they're greedy.

They're just okay with being greedy, right?

Prideful people have a hard time seeing that they struggle with pride.

And here's why.

Because what pride causes in you is to look at yourself and go, no, I'm good.

I'm good.

I'm fine just the way that I am.

It's what it begins to manifest.

And so for me, as I rolled through this over this week and how I prayed for myself and prayed

for you, and we'll kind of end with this as well, is, God, if there are areas in my life

that have pride that I'm incapable of seeing or unwilling to see, God, reveal those to me,

all right?

So as you go through this this morning, like, lean in, dependency on the Holy Spirit to show

and to teach what is exactly going on.

So let's start reading in verse 36 of chapter 1.

And this will be a part of the passage that we read last week.

It says,

And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this

is the sixth month with her who will be called, who was called, excuse me, barren, for nothing

will be impossible with God.

And Mary said, Behold, I am a servant of the Lord.

Let it be to me according to your word.

And the angel departed from her.

So this is last week, the angel has appeared to Mary.

And last week, we largely focused in on Mary being told that she will be the mother of Jesus.

But there was another part of that conversation.

And it's about Mary finding out about her cousin, Elizabeth, who is also miraculously, but in

a different way, pregnant as well.

And what we see in this encounter are these two different extremes.

We have Mary who is very young, who is not married, who is a virgin, so who should not

be pregnant, but is going to be through the working of the Holy Spirit, right?

And is going to bear Christ.

But we also find out about her cousin, Elizabeth, who is married, and who is not a virgin, who

has been with her husband, but who has never been able to have a child.

And so the angel reveals to her that Elizabeth, who was barren, she is not barren anymore.

And through God working in her life and in the life of her husband, she now has conceived

as well, and this son will be John the Baptist, right?

So let's jump into verse 39.

So in those days, Mary arose and went with haste until the hill country to a town in Judah.

And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was

filled with the Holy Spirit.

And 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?

For 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.

So you've got Mary who is going through everything that Mary is having to go through with this,

all right?

Imagine all that she is carrying at this point, and she finds out why not the same, there's

some similarities of what God is doing between her and her cousin Elizabeth.

So she goes on a journey to be with Elizabeth as they can relate.

These things shouldn't have happened, but yet because of God's will, they happen and they

take place.

And then there's this miraculous thing that happens.

It says that she entered into the house, and she greets Elizabeth.

Now, Elizabeth does not know that Mary is pregnant.

But as Mary gets closer to her, the baby in the womb of Elizabeth, John the Baptist, who

will be the announcement for Christ, right?

Her baby, Scripture says, leaps in the womb.

And before Mary can even tell Elizabeth the news, Elizabeth proclaims what is taking place

through the power of the Holy Spirit, and she begins to worship the unborn Christ, right?

And so what we see in Scripture, this is like the first Jesus, like worship service moment kind

of happened in here, in the incarnate Christ, even before he is born.

Like, we begin to see the weight of what is happening here, of these two women and the different

journeys of life that they've been on, but the similarities of what has brought them.

And through only how God could do this in their encounter, a baby in a womb leaps for another

baby in the womb, and the mother of one of those begins to worship.

And then Mary is going to begin to sing a song.

Mary's going to begin to worship as well.

And so verse 46, it says,

And Mary said,

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever, in verse 56,

And Mary remained with her about three months in return to her home.

Now, the last couple weeks, as we've read through and studied a couple of different passages

of Scripture, you notice, like, we're continuing to look at Mary.

Even though we're understanding who Jesus is, and largely our response to Jesus, we found ourselves

really, really studying Mary.

And I want to be honest with you, like, since I've been a believer, this is, even before I

was a believer, this is the story that I've known, because I was raised in church.

There's not one point in time in my life that I did not know who Jesus was, nor is there

not one point in time in my life that I didn't know the story of Mary and the Christmas story.

That was later on before God saved me.

But this isn't new to me.

But this year, it's kind of hit home a little bit more for me, as my daughter is probably

the exact same age that Mary was at this time.

And here's what just impresses me.

What impresses me about Mary, of what God is showing me, is not only the faith of Mary,

but the maturity of the faith of Mary.

We see a depth in her young age of maturity that, just being honest, so many of us who have

been a follower of Jesus for years pale in comparison to the depth of the maturity that she shows.

The burden that she's carrying, the weight that she feels, all of this has come out.

And as you read this story, it's very hard to remind ourselves, hey, this is a preteen girl.

This is a young teenage girl.

Because we picture someone so much older and seasoned in life, but because of her maturity.

But that's not necessarily the case.

And so in this, what I was reading through this week, is what makes Mary's maturity so evident?

What makes it like, she was a woman of faith before because God chose her for this.

So what are we seeing in Scripture in her response to the angel?

What are we seeing in Scripture in her response to this moment where Elizabeth's baby leaps in the womb

and Elizabeth begins to worship?

And what we begin to see is we see humility.

We see humility in Mary.

We see humility greater than any sense of entitlement that she may be feeling in the fact,

the truth, that God had chosen her for this.

There's only going to be one Savior.

There's only going to be one Messiah.

Which means there's only going to be one mother of the Messiah.

And it comes from her.

So what I want us to do this morning is I believe there are three markings of humility

that are found in Mary's song, but also three markings of pride that are found in this.

And so I want us to work our way through those this morning.

The first marking of humility that we see is fear.

Bo, that's a weird marking of humility is fear.

But let's look at this.

It says,

And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Now fear is a difficult thing.

Because I could make the statement, no one likes to be afraid.

And you could say, there could be some of you that would argue that's not true.

I like to experience fear.

I like to get close as I can to fear.

And so maybe you like watching scary movies.

Maybe you like going to haunted houses.

And in those, you allow yourself to be frightened.

But here's what I would argue to both of those.

You know that that movie is not real.

And you know that that haunted house isn't real.

So you're afraid in the moment, but you know that there's safety on the other side.

And maybe you're like, well, Bo, I like to skydive.

And I like to do bungee cord stuff.

And that stuff is crazy to me because I hate heights, right?

But you're like, I like to look fear in the face.

But at the same time, know that you have a rescue to know that you have safety on the other end of that.

So fear is a hard thing because when it really boils down to it,

you and I do not want to be put into a situation where fear comes, where there's not safety.

Where fear comes and it's not the escape.

So when we say a marking of humility is to fear the Lord,

that's a hard thing for us to wrap our mind on.

But God's word and his mercy, right, who receives his grace, who lives in this,

is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

So the marking of the fear of God is something that we should obtain and that we should have.

Now, when fear in church is talked about, specifically fear of the Lord,

well, I think two things happen in this topic.

Number one, we either don't talk about it, or number two, we water it down, right?

Now, in Scripture, when you see people who come face-to-face with God,

what is their typical reaction?

Oh no, I'm about to die, right?

Go and look, Old Testament, New Testament.

That is the reaction when people come face-to-face with God.

So there is an application of fear that happens within that.

And so I sat through and I tried to think through an illustration that would make sense in my mind

to help us communicate what it means to fear the Lord.

And I know that this illustration can be picked apart sideways in every way,

but I think this will help us grasp this, okay?

About three or four years ago, in a moment of being vulnerable,

and I see Mike Smith is here,

I bought another dog, all right?

And I say another dog because we already had a dog.

I bought a Chesapeake Bay Retriever,

and we named him Doc, all right?

From last week, Doc Holliday is where he got his name, all right?

And this dog, my wife went,

went to us, we went to Mike's house,

and she found,

she said this, go in there.

She said, but I want the biggest puppy he's got, all right?

And so tucked in the back of the yard was this massive,

with rolls coming off of him puppy.

And she said, that's it.

And she scooped him up,

and overnight that dog went from being a puppy to about 130 pounds, right?

His head is like the size of a cinder block.

He's a full-grown horse.

This is a big old dog, okay?

Now, I love this dog.

It was a moment of vulnerable weakness then,

but I've grown to love this dog,

and this dog loves me.

We have a great relationship.

I love both of my dogs.

But about three years ago,

so we'd had him about a year, a year and a half or so,

Emma went out into the backyard.

And it was summertime,

and I remember that because she had like a tank top on,

and she was out there,

and the dogs were loose.

So I've got a black lab,

and we've got this big Chesapeake retriever that's there.

And all of a sudden,

I know Emma's out in the backyard,

and I hear these screams happening.

And I look out the window,

and Doc is just trying to play with her.

He's just trying to love on her.

But this 130-pound dog is jumping as hard as he can

at my daughter,

and his claws are going down her back,

and you can see the blood begin to happen,

and you see her wounds that are there.

And so I take off,

and I go into the backyard,

and within about 10 seconds,

what that dog experienced

was discipline,

that led him to fear of me,

that led him to a proper authority

of who I am and who he is.

And we haven't had a moment's problem

with him since in that.

Because in that moment,

what he needed to know

is that in spite of my love

and my care for him,

I'm his master.

And I think oftentimes when we miss

that the most gracious thing

that God does with us

from time to time

is that he disciplines us.

And that we become in these feelings

that God is our friend,

which he is.

That God is loving,

which he is.

That God is compassionate,

which he is.

But also within that,

in the demands of his holiness

in light of a sinful world,

there's a wrath being held back from him,

and that in that,

that the humility of the Lord

is marked in fear of the Lord.

And what causes us to fear God

is the exact same thing

that causes us to surrender to God.

It's what causes us

to bow down before him

in full and in complete surrender

because of the fear of the Lord.

That we understand

that those of us made in the image of God,

that we are not God.

And that that is for him.

And that is for him.

And it is only through his grace

and his mercy

that we are even still here in this moment.

And so it says,

and his mercy

is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

The second marking of humility

is perspective.

Perspective.

It says in Luke 152,

he has brought down the mighty

from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate.

So it says that God brings down,

we're going to talk about that in a little bit,

but that God also exalts.

And so who does God exalt?

Those of humble estate,

those of perspective of who they are.

When we go back and we look in Scripture

of seeing what God does

with men and women of faith,

that God chooses the least likely

who understand who they are,

that understand what they're capable of,

but they also understand the goodness

and the holiness of God.

It's what we've seen already

with the story of Mary,

that God took this nobody girl

from a nobody village

and raised her up

and exalted her.

And it all comes into

and based out of the perspective

that I don't see myself

as coming from my throne,

but I see myself

from humble estate.

It's what God does with David.

If you go back and remember the story

of the great mighty warrior

who would kill Goliath,

the great mighty warrior

who would become king

when the prophet comes

and tells David's dad,

hey, from one of your sons,

the next king is going to come.

Bring them all to me.

David's own dad left him out on the field

and brought everyone else.

That David in his humble beginnings,

in his own insignificance,

his own dad excluded him.

Moses, when God called him

to lead his people from Egypt,

Moses was a murderer on the run

working as a herdsman

for his father-in-law

who was limited by his own speech impediments.

And God said,

no, I'm going to exalt you.

In all of the disciples

that Jesus called in his ministry,

they all came from the outcasts.

They were all men who were passed over.

And time and time again, right,

when the wealthy come to Jesus

and Jesus says,

you got to lay it down to follow me,

many of them say,

no, I'm not going to have that.

But the people who are broken,

the beggars and the prostitutes

and the tax collectors,

when they come to Jesus

and Jesus says,

but you got to leave everything behind.

And they say,

well, I have nothing to begin with, right?

It's all based in perspective.

All of the men knew,

all of these women knew

that they were nothing without God

and that's who God exalts.

The third thing that we see

in context to the fear

is gratitude.

Gratitude.

Luke 1, 53,

he has filled the hungry

with good things

and the rich

he has sent away empty.

Now, I want to ask you a question.

I want you to be honest with yourself.

I'm not going to ask you

to raise your hands on this,

but just think about this.

Have you ever been hungry?

Now, there's been a lot of times

in my life

that I've been ready to eat.

I've been really ready to eat,

but I don't know

that there's ever been

a time in my life

that I've truly been hungry, right?

Like, like me,

like you can look at me

like there's excess here

that I need to work through

right before that truly happens.

But have you ever been truly hungry?

Well, God's word says that

he filled the hungry

with good things.

And so what we see

is that in God's people

there's this desperation

that when they're there

and they're desperate for this

that God then gives them

what God calls good things

and that in that

what comes from that

is gratitude, okay?

Now, about four years ago

I was headed home.

I'd been here at the church

and I was heading home one night

and I stopped at a gas station.

I needed to get some gas

and I'm standing there

pumping gas

and this lady comes

walking across the parking lot

and I can tell like

she's walking toward me.

So I'm like,

all right, here we go.

I don't know what's about to happen,

but I've got maybe a feel

and she comes up

and she says,

excuse me, sir.

And I said, yes, ma'am.

And she said,

me and my daughter,

we're in our car

and we're homeless

and we're really hungry.

Would you mind

getting us something to eat?

And I said, no, ma'am,

not at all.

She said, you know,

it's been days

and since we've eaten

and no one is willing

to feed us.

No one's willing

to give us some food.

So thank you so much

for what you're going to do.

I said, ma'am, no problem.

And so I said,

let me finish pumping gas

and I looked at the gas station.

There's a restaurant

attached to the gas station.

I said, there's a restaurant

attached to this gas station

right here.

So as soon as I get done

pumping gas,

we'll go in there

and I'll get you

and your daughter

anything you want to eat.

Anything you want to eat.

And as I'm telling her this,

I'm kind of looking at her

and the look on her face

is now different.

And I said, ma'am,

is that okay?

And she said, well,

I really don't like this food.

There's a Wendy's down the road.

Would you mind

if maybe you could get

in your car

and take us down there

to Wendy's

and get us something

to eat at Wendy's?

Now at this time,

I'm trying to now filter through

what's the proper thing

that I need to say.

And I said, ma'am,

I said, I'm not going to do that.

I'm not going to drive down

to Wendy's

and get you something to eat.

I didn't say this,

but I was thinking

for safety reasons.

That's probably not wise

to do that.

My wife would frown on this.

But once again,

I said, but I'm willing

to go inside

this restaurant right here.

And if you're truly hungry,

I will buy you

and your daughter

anything that they offer

for you to eat.

And she said,

well, no,

we really don't want that.

And I said, ma'am,

then you're really not hungry

because her gratitude

was based in

not of what she was given

because of her situation,

but for what she wanted.

Now, years ago,

Aaron and I

hadn't been married long.

We wanted a mission trip

to Zimbabwe.

Talked about this story before

or this mission trip before.

And while we were there,

we were staying at a hotel.

And I'll be honest with you.

It is at that point

in time in my life,

it was the nicest hotel

that we had ever stayed at,

that I had ever stayed at.

And probably still to this day

was the nicest hotel

that I'd ever stayed at

in my entire life.

And we had someone

who would clean our room

every morning

and every evening.

And it was different

than a maid service.

They were continually

checking in with you

during the day

to make sure

that you had everything

you needed.

And it was the same person.

And it didn't matter

how early it was

or how late

in the evening it was.

This same person

was always nearby

where we could get them.

And it was a young man

by the name of Brighton.

I'll never forget his name.

His name was Brighton.

I was about 25 years old

at the time

and I would be willing to bet

he was maybe 16, 17 years old.

Well, when we were going

to Zimbabwe

for this missions trip,

I was going to be speaking

at several churches

and Aaron was going to be

leading worship

at the churches.

We were told

Zimbabwe is going

through a famine.

So bring some food

because we can't be guaranteed

that we'll be able

to get food

every single day.

And so we packed up

a suitcase.

We packed granola bars

and peanut butter

and just things

that we could take with us.

And a couple of things

remember from last week

that I packed

was I packed

some peanut M&Ms

but also packed

some Snickers candy bars.

And so one day

Brighton has come

into the room

and I'm sitting there

and you really

kind of feel guilty

because you feel like

there's weight

on your hand and foot.

And so I've got

this candy bar

and I'm sitting there

in the chair

eating the candy bar

and I notice he keeps

looking over there

at me, right?

And I'm like,

keeps staring back at me.

And he looks at me

and he says,

is that a candy bar?

And I said,

yeah, it's a candy bar.

He said,

what kind of a candy bar?

And I said,

it's a Snickers candy bar.

And he said,

oh, I've heard of those

but I've never had one.

And I said,

oh, well, I've got more.

So I went in my bag

and I opened it up

and I pulled out the candy bar

and I invited him

to sit down

and let's have

a candy bar together.

And he said,

no, no, no,

I can't do that.

And so he opened up

the candy bar,

he took a bite out of it

and then he put the wrapper

back over it

and he put it

in his shirt pocket.

Well, this is Africa

during the middle

of the summer.

Like, it's hot.

And he's got on

this perfectly ironed

white shirt,

not a stain on it.

And I looked at him

and I said,

Brighton,

I'm not sure

that that's a good thing

to do,

to take that candy bar

that's been opened

and put it

in your white shirt pocket.

That chocolate's gonna melt,

it's gonna get all over

your shirt

and potentially ruin

your shirt.

Just go ahead

and finish eating

the candy bar.

And he said,

no, I can't.

I said,

why not?

And he said,

well, I've got five

brothers and sisters

at home

and they've never

had a Snickers bar

either.

And so I wanna have

this bite

and then make sure

every single one of them

can have a bite

of the candy bar.

Which, at that point,

like, I could've given him

anything if he'd asked

for it, right?

And I said,

no, no, no.

I just went over the bag

and got every Snickers bar

that we had out.

I was like,

here, you take them.

I don't need them.

I'm fat, you know?

And I loaded up his pockets

with candy bars

and he went home

and it was a great week

getting to know him.

But that's the difference

of gratitude, right?

One person that

this is what I want,

but one person

who is grateful

for what they're given.

Gratitude does not cause us

to look at what others have

and wonder why not me.

But gratitude causes me

to see what I've been

blessed with

and give thanks

because God has filled

the hungry

with good things.

But let's look at

the markings of pride.

Markings of pride.

So if there's these

that mark humility,

there are these

that mark pride.

And the first one

is blame

that we want to look at.

Blame.

Luke 1, 51.

He has shown strength

with his arm

and he has scattered

the proud

in the thoughts

of their hearts.

Now, I love this,

these words

that Mary uses

as God

inspires her.

The Greek word

for thoughts here

is imagination.

All right?

So here's what Mary

is saying.

He allows

the proud

to get lost

in their own imagination.

Right?

Have you ever

met someone

who doesn't have

a sense of reality?

Right?

What is going on

in their life

is not the way

that anyone else

sees it,

but only through the way

that they see it.

Well, what God's word

says,

what Mary

is proclaiming

is that what God

does is for people

who find pride

or people who are rooted

that their hearts

are filled with pride,

that he scatters

their thoughts

and their hearts

so literally

they're believing

their own narrative

that they're making up

as they go.

And what this begins

to do

in the heart

of a prideful person

is it manifests

itself

into blame?

Because if you look

at this,

to blame someone

means that there's

no ownership

on your part

for the negative

decisions that you made.

It's only

someone else's fault

that you find yourself

in the situation

in which you are.

Why?

Because you've believed

the lies

of your own mind.

You've believed

the imagination

that is there

and it's a terrible,

terrible path

when we begin

to walk down that.

A couple weeks ago

I got a haircut

and I usually

I don't have

like one place

that I go

or one person

that cuts my hair.

Kind of wherever

I'm at in Lexington

I just find

the nearest place

and I go there

which means

I have a new person

cutting my hair

almost every single time

I get my hair cut.

And so I was over

on 378 in Lexington

and I needed a haircut.

Aaron had been telling me

you and Grace

need to get haircuts

and so there was

one right around the corner

and I was like

well I'll just go there.

And so I go

and I like talking

with the person

that's cutting my hair

but I honestly

had something happen

getting my hair cut

this time

that had never happened

in the entire

my entire life

of me getting a haircut.

I sit down in the chair

the lady asked me

how would you like

for your hair to be cut

and I tell her

because it basically

doesn't matter

because it's all

falling out anyways

right?

And so I sit down

and she puts

the little cover there

on me

and she sprays

my hair down

and then she begins

to sing

the whole time

right?

And very quickly

I got very uncomfortable

I've never been

in this situation

I've never been

serenaded

while you're cutting

my hair

and so I don't know

why this made me

so uncomfortable

but it made me

uncomfortable

and so I'm like

I've got to start

a conversation

with this lady

so that she'll stop

singing at me

in this moment

as she's just singing

and everybody's

looking at us

like do y'all know

I don't know

but here's where

we find ourselves

and so she paused

for a moment

and I said

you sure do have

a pretty voice

and she goes

oh well thank you

and she began

to talk about singing

and her love

for singing

and then she said

she said you know

and where I really

love to sing

is at church

I thought

great conversation

right?

We're about to talk

about church

we're about to talk

about the Lord

and before

I could say

anything else

she said

but I don't sing

at my church anymore

now I'm trying

to get out

of the conversation

right?

like go back

to singing

singing's good

right?

and she said

it's all my pastor's fault

well those are my people

right?

and so

I'm sitting there

and I said

well I hate to hear that

but also kind of

thinking through my brain

please don't ask me

what I do for a living

you know?

and she said

yep

we were at a business

meeting

which is where

churches just kind of

fall apart sometimes

right?

we were at a business

meeting at our church

and I asked him a question

and I didn't like his answer

I said well I'm sorry

to hear that

and she said

so I quit singing

I said oh

she said

and I quit going

to Sunday school

I said okay

I quit volunteering

I quit going

I quit going

on Sunday nights

I quit going

on Wednesday nights

and I quit going

on Sunday mornings

and it's all

his fault

how sad

is that?

we didn't dive

into the story

because I'll be honest

with you

you're in a vulnerable

spot right?

when you've got

scissors pointed at you

and got someone angry

but in that moment

what she began

to walk down through

and what was causing

her

she acknowledged

I'm not as close

as God

as I used to be

I'm not as close

to my family

in Christ

as I used to be

and it all

began to happen

because what she

was experiencing

in her life

was blame

and she said

to me

she said

you know

I know

I need to get

back into singing

I know

I need to get

back in church

I'm just not

there yet

and I said

well maybe

God will give you

the opportunity

to forgive

so you can

I don't know

the situation

I don't know

the story

but here's

what I know

that we've got

a pretty good crowd

in this room

right now

of people

who have

experienced hurt

and disappointment

and brokenness

in life

and what happens

when we

when we live

in a world

of blame

that I am

where I am

solely because

of what other

people done

then that blame

holds us

enslaved

to the situation

that we find

ourselves

and do you know

what the opposite

of blaming is

do you know

what gives us

freedom

from that

is forgiveness

I no longer

blame you

I forgive you

I no longer

blame you

but I release

it

and here's the

funny thing

for that

for that lady

I asked her

I said

did the pastor

know that he

made you mad

and she said

no he has

no clue

you know

she's holding

on to something

that's not

keeping him

up at night

and it's

what blame

continues to

do

blame

keeps you

in the hurt

but forgiveness

allows you

to move

on

but blame

is filled

in the heart

of the pride

because it's

what's been

done to us

the second

thing is

control

Luke 152

he has brought

down the mighty

from their thrones

and exalted

those of humble

estates

so we talked

about what God

does as he

raises up

those of humble

estates

from their

perspective

but we see

that he brings

down the mighty

from their thrones

right

what does a throne

represent

a throne

represents a kingdom

and what a kingdom

represents is

control

that this is

mine

and that this

is what I have

here's what pride

does when it

creeps into the

heart of men

and women

it says I have

control of

something that

I've never

been entrusted

to control

that this

is mine

and this

is my

kingdom

those

that he

brings

down

and what

we try

to control

are the

things that

consume us

that we were

never meant

to control

but instead

we were intended

to release

instead the

things that

we were intended

to surrender

and then the

last thing

of the marking

of pride

is those

who are

self-satisfied

Luke 153

says he

has filled

the hungry

with good

things

but we get

the opposite

and the rich

he has sent

away

empty

that's not

how that's

supposed to

happen

the rich

are always

supposed to

be full

the rich

are always

supposed to

have possessions

within this

but God

word says

that when it

comes in the

engagement

with him

is that

he fills

the hungry

with good

things

but that

the rich

he sends

them

away

empty

so what

does that

mean

that we

are

self-satisfied

well if

you're

self-satisfied

then you

don't find

your satisfaction

in God

and in who

he is

and so in

those moments

in pride

where God

begins to

work and

navigate and

move into

your life

in the moments

where the

Holy Spirit

begins to

draw on your

heart

the characteristics

the positioning

the posture

of a

self-satisfied

person

says

nah I'm

good

nah I'm

good

I've got

what I

have

and there's

no need

for that

and then

here's what

it prevents

those

who chase

after Jesus

are those

who are

desperate

for him

but those

who are

satisfied

those who

are good

right where

they are

do not

chase after

him

but instead

feel contentment

in and of

themselves

I want to ask

you three

questions as

we close

up

when it

comes to

your life

I'm praying

for the

Holy Spirit

to speak

to you

to speak

to me

do you

live in

fear

or blame

when it

comes to

moving through

your life

do you

have

perspective

of who

you are

and who

God is

or do

you seek

control

when it

comes to

your heart

do you

have

gratitude

or do

you find

yourself

seeking

self

satisfaction

then the

marking of

Mary

the marking

of maturity

was the

one found

in humility

desperate

for God

in her life

would you

pray with

me

Lord I

thank you

so much

for who

you are

and what

you've

done

Lord I

thank you

that in

your sovereignty

in your

choice

of Mary

or that

as she

burst

forth

in song

what is

shown

from her

words

is what

it means

to humbly

walk

after you

to fear

you

as the

holy God

who does

love us

who does

want a

relationship

with us

who is

kind

and

compassionate

but is

holy

and is

righteous

we're

not in a

partnership

with you

God

but we're

in surrender

to you

for who

you are

Lord make

us humble

through giving

us perspective

as you

exalt

those

of humble

estate

Lord have

us have

the perspective

on who

we are

in light

of you

how

desperate

Lord we

should be

for you

and that

in that

is when we

can experience

being exalted

not in the

way that

this world

defines

Lord

but a way

that will

glorify you

Lord and

lastly

give us

give us

hearts of

gratitude

Lord we're

here

we've got

clothes

we've got

food

we've got

air in

our lungs

we've got

salvation

it's reason

to praise

you

Lord

have us

to stop

looking and

saying why

not me

and just

responding

to you

because of

what you've

done

for me

pride

will

lead to

our

destruction

but

humility

bring us

to the

feet of

God

Lord we

love you

we praise

you

in your name

we pray

amen

thanks again

for listening to

the Willow Ridge

Church weekly

podcast we

hope that you

enjoyed listening

to this week's

message if

you'd like to

learn more

about who

we are or

explore additional

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www.willowridgechurch.com

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