Characters of Christmas - Mary
Psalm 96:1
1 O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
Luke 1:46 - 55
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
This song, known as the Magnificat, is a powerful expression of Mary’s faith and her joy at being chosen by God to bear his Son.
In her song, Mary declares that God has looked upon her with favor and has exalted her humble state.
Micah 5:2 ASV
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
The Prophet Micah prophesied…
- that something no one saw as significant
- BECAME significant
- because the LORD would come THROUGH IT!
BECAUSE WE HAVE JESUS SHOWING THROUGH US…
- WE ARE VITAL!
- WE ARE SIGNIFICANT!
Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
IMMANUEL meant “God… with… us….”
IT WAS A PRAYER THAT THE PEOPLE OF GOD HAD
and
IT IS A PRAYER THAT WE PRAY AS GOD USES US TO
James 5:13 - 15 KJV
13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Oil represents
Isaiah 48:3
3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
Jesus is OMNIPRESENT
- He is always here…
- He is always ready… but we do not always make Him ROOM.
1 Corinthians 1:27
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
You have to choose what you want more… the “
It may look foolish to be speaking faith when the circumstances look different.
THE ANGELS CAME WITH A POWERFUL PHRASE:
Luke 2:10 - 11
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
“Behold” = listen… pay attention…
THE ANGELS WERE SAYING:
- IF YOU PAY ATTENTION, YOU WILL NOT FEAR!
THE ONLY REASON WE LET FEAR IN IS BECAUSE OUR ATTENTION IS OFF!
PAY ATTENTION TO JESUS IN OUR LIVES!
PAY ATTENTION TO HIS SALVATION POWER!
Luke 2:19
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
AS THEY LEFT… Mary “Treasured” the “Rhema” and “PONDERED”
“Kept” - Synetērei - Treasured = to hold closely. To keep intact.
“Things” - Rhema = the spoken, revelation Word of God.
“Pondered” = SUMBALLO - (sun = to identify with) (ballo = to throw on top)
WE ARE CALLED TO
THREE THINGS
LATER, when JESUS WAS ABOUT TWO YEARS OLD… wise men from BABYLON CAME…
Matthew 2:11
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
GOLD - FRANKINCENSE - MYRHH -
GOLD - represents His KINGLY attributes. He is not JUST Christ the Savior… He is CHRIST THE LORD!
Their worship of their money, they finances, was stating - YOU are lord!
FRANKINCENSE - Was used in worship. Usually they would place frankincense on the coals in the holy place. The Frankincense was a scent rising up to Heaven from their sacrifice.
MYRHH - is an EMBALMING substance - representing Jesus’ humanity.
That He would have to be willing to:
- suffer…
- go through the pain and anguish in our stead…
- to die…
- to be buried…
THIS IS GIVING… IT IS IN ADORATION…
The wonder of Christmas is not that the night was easy…
- no one said Mary’s birthing was easy.
- no one said the travel was easy.
- no one said it wasn’t a sacrifice to leave the sheep at night.
- no one said it wasn’t dangerous having a child in the culture and nation and climate that was happening.
GIVING OF OURSELVES IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE EASY.
CHRISTMAS IS A TIME OF GIVING…
- OF OURSELVES
- OF OUR TIME
- OUR TALENTS
- OUR TREASURE.
Where WE REMEMBER that HE GAVE to US.
CHRISTMAS was not a QUIET, EASY, SIMPLE night…It was a HOLY NIGHT!
HOLY means SET APART for GOD’S USE.
- It means entirely beyond comparing.
- Totally different.
- Completely separate.
It was not EASY… it was HOLY.
FOR BELEIVERS…
- Every NIGHT is a HOLY night that we dedicate to Him.
- Every day IS A HOLY DAY - when we stop to hear and follow Him.
- No day is an “ordinary day”…
- No service is an “ordinary service”…