3 reasons why our hearts should worship Christ
I. The Lord Is Powerful
Luke 1:46-47 - And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Luke 1:26-33 - Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
II. The Lord Is Merciful
Luke 1:49-50 - For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name and His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him.
Luke 1:34-38 - Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
III. The Lord Is Savior
Luke 1:47 - And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Luke 54-55 - He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.
Romans 10:9-10 - …because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
3 reasons why our hearts should worship Christ
I. The Lord is Powerful
Luke 1:46-47 And Mary said: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Mary may not have known all of the supernatural circumstances of the Messiah she carried throughout the course of her child’s life, but she most certainly understood that the Child she carried was indeed the Messiah and Redeemer who would so identify with humanity by becoming a man Himself
Luke 1:26-33
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary knew that her Savior had finally arrived! So clear was her expressing of faith that Mary said that her spirit rejoiced in “God her Savior”, in acknowledgment of her own sin and need of a Savior!
The Child that she would deliver was the very deliverer of her soul. This calls to mind a question: Do you know? Do you know that Christ came to seek and save that which was lost? Are you lost this morning? If you believe that you are lost, then you’ve come to the right place because today could be your day of salvation. I pray that the Lord would open your eyes to see that he is powerful to save you – powerful to redeem you from your slavery in sin.
And if the Lord is reaching out to you today, understand that this is because he is merciful…
II. The Lord is Merciful
Luke 1:49-50 “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name “And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.”
Think about what Mary just heard – The angel Gabriel just visited her and said to her that she was to give birth to the Christ, the Messiah – the Redeemer of her soul and those who would believe.
Again, she may not have been fully aware of all the OT prophecies concerning when the Messiah would come, but she knew he was coming and she believed it. She had no idea the Lord would use her to bring about such circumstances!
Christian, does it humble you that the Lord can use you as well to fulfill his purpose for him on this world. Consider this: you bear the message of salvation to a dying world – and he has by virtue of the great commission selected you to carry that message – does that humble you?
Is he not….merciful to you? And if he has shown you mercy upon mercy, he wants to use you to extend salvation mercy and grace to others who have yet to see how beautifully merciful the Lord is?
Mary understood the weight of God’s mercy extended to her – and she is exulting in God her Savior who has done great things – well what things…?
Luke 1:34-38 “Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Mary had witnessed in her life a supernatural act – she sees the power of her God – but most importantly, she believes that what her God says is true and she is overwhelmed by His mercy.
Is the Lord granting you mercy…right now? All of us should say yes to that, yes? God’s mercy shown to us right now in so many facets of our lives that it should not take a miracle to convince us of this truth.
His mercy is as simple as allowing us to breathe. His mercy is a simple as allow you to move and have your being. His mercy is on display by steadying his hand of judgment upon you and sending you off to the eternal flame because some of you have not yet repented of your sin and surrendered your life to Christ.
The giving of His Son Jesus Christ to you is the greatest extension of his mercy toward you this Christmas or any other day he is allowing you to live. Will you finally surrender yourself to his merciful hand of grace today?
Will you say like Mary did with so many other cloud of witnesses that…
III. The Lord is Savior
Luke 1:47 “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Christian, may our spirit continually rejoice in God our Savior and the great things he has done
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son,
Who yielded his life an atonement for Sin,
And opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Luke 54-55 “He has given help to Israel His servant, in remembrance of His mercy, as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his descendants forever.”
Mary is recalling God’s covenant with the Jewish people – in other words, God is keeping his promise to his people. And if God so keeps his promises, don’t you think he will do the same for you today?
For you who don’t know Christ today – here is God’s promise to you today.
Romans 10:9-10 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
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