1 00:00:01,584 --> 00:00:04,788 This is a reading from Luke 1:46-56 2 00:00:06,239 --> 00:00:08,992 And Mary said, my soul magnifies 3 00:00:08,992 --> 00:00:12,529 the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 4 00:00:12,862 --> 00:00:15,865 For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. 5 00:00:16,082 --> 00:00:20,270 For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed, 6 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:25,008 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 7 00:00:25,442 --> 00:00:29,929 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 8 00:00:30,030 --> 00:00:31,915 He has shown strength with his arm. 9 00:00:31,915 --> 00:00:34,768 He has scattered the proud and the thoughts of their hearts. 10 00:00:34,768 --> 00:00:35,518 He has brought down 11 00:00:35,518 --> 00:00:39,022 the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. 12 00:00:39,422 --> 00:00:43,410 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 13 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,030 He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy, 14 00:00:47,180 --> 00:00:51,051 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his offspring forever. 15 00:00:51,534 --> 00:00:55,171 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. 16 00:00:57,741 --> 00:01:00,827 Hey everybody, good morning and welcome to Christ Community Chapel. 17 00:01:00,827 --> 00:01:01,428 My name is Joe. 18 00:01:01,428 --> 00:01:05,999 I'm one of the pastors here, and I am really glad that you have come. 19 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:07,050 All right. 20 00:01:07,050 --> 00:01:11,721 This is the first week of advent where we turn our eyes toward Christmas. 21 00:01:12,272 --> 00:01:16,192 And I always think that Thanksgiving is like, a starting line 22 00:01:16,192 --> 00:01:19,195 when that you swallow that last piece of turkey, 23 00:01:19,946 --> 00:01:23,583 then like, a gun goes off and it's an all out sprint to Christmas, 24 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:28,021 Christmas specials start showing up on TV, have office 25 00:01:28,021 --> 00:01:31,524 Christmas parties, and everywhere you go you hear Christmas music. 26 00:01:32,192 --> 00:01:35,328 For the most part, I, I enjoy Christmas music. 27 00:01:36,296 --> 00:01:38,481 Although songs like Sleigh 28 00:01:38,481 --> 00:01:42,569 Bells ringing or chestnuts roasting, they're fine. 29 00:01:42,569 --> 00:01:46,923 They just kind of miss the point, because the point of Christmas is Jesus, 30 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:52,712 that healing has been injected into the brokenness of our world, 31 00:01:52,712 --> 00:01:56,699 that healing has come for the brokenness 32 00:01:56,883 --> 00:02:01,020 deep down in you and deep down in me. 33 00:02:01,888 --> 00:02:05,208 The passage we just had read to us is actually the first Christmas carol, 34 00:02:05,909 --> 00:02:08,778 and it's sung by Mary, the mother of Jesus. 35 00:02:08,778 --> 00:02:14,367 It's commonly called the Magnificat, which sounds like the word magnificent. 36 00:02:14,551 --> 00:02:17,554 It seems like it's referring to how great the song is, 37 00:02:17,570 --> 00:02:20,640 but Magnificat is Latin for magnifies. 38 00:02:21,324 --> 00:02:26,362 It's the first line that Mary sings my soul magnifies 39 00:02:26,930 --> 00:02:29,933 the Lord, and my spirit rejoices 40 00:02:30,183 --> 00:02:32,569 in God my Savior. 41 00:02:33,603 --> 00:02:35,121 Our theme for advent 42 00:02:35,121 --> 00:02:38,541 this year here at TCC is joy. 43 00:02:39,242 --> 00:02:41,728 That's it. Just joy. 44 00:02:41,728 --> 00:02:44,731 And the title of this message is Joy for you. 45 00:02:45,532 --> 00:02:51,471 And we take this passage because Mary is overflowing with joy. 46 00:02:51,471 --> 00:02:54,474 It's like it's cascading out of her. 47 00:02:55,074 --> 00:03:00,029 She has come to understand something and what has happened. 48 00:03:00,630 --> 00:03:05,668 The result of that is irrepressible and glorious joy. 49 00:03:05,668 --> 00:03:07,070 That's what I want this Christmas. 50 00:03:07,070 --> 00:03:10,073 That's what I want for you this Christmas. 51 00:03:10,323 --> 00:03:13,309 When I say she came to understand something, what I mean is, 52 00:03:13,309 --> 00:03:17,697 a couple of weeks before she sings this song, the angel Gabriel pierced her 53 00:03:18,414 --> 00:03:21,301 and tells her that she's going to have a baby. 54 00:03:21,301 --> 00:03:24,921 And she says, how can these things be? 55 00:03:26,089 --> 00:03:29,692 And Gabriel says, The Holy Spirit's going to come upon you. 56 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,146 The baby's going to be conceived by the Holy Spirit. 57 00:03:33,146 --> 00:03:36,082 She has no idea what that means right now. How could she 58 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:40,670 at that moment, she is not experiencing joy. 59 00:03:40,670 --> 00:03:43,823 What she does is she submits 60 00:03:44,841 --> 00:03:49,112 like she knows that if what the angel said is true, then 61 00:03:49,462 --> 00:03:53,449 all the plans that she had for her life are gone. 62 00:03:54,951 --> 00:03:59,455 She knows if what the angel says is true, she's going to be an unwed 63 00:03:59,455 --> 00:04:03,176 mother with the story that no one will believe. 64 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:06,262 And she says, 65 00:04:06,262 --> 00:04:07,981 okay, 66 00:04:07,981 --> 00:04:10,099 I'm in. 67 00:04:10,099 --> 00:04:13,436 You know, sometimes obedience is like, 68 00:04:14,070 --> 00:04:15,622 you know, when you go to a vending machine, 69 00:04:15,622 --> 00:04:18,508 you put the coins in and you press the button 70 00:04:18,508 --> 00:04:21,628 for the coke or whatever, and nothing happens. 71 00:04:22,195 --> 00:04:25,131 And then there's kind of a rumbling in the machine. 72 00:04:25,131 --> 00:04:28,134 And then the coke finally pops out. 73 00:04:28,618 --> 00:04:33,056 That's what happens sometimes when God asks you to obey him. 74 00:04:33,473 --> 00:04:35,992 You don't really know what God is doing. 75 00:04:35,992 --> 00:04:38,461 You don't know what the result is going to be. 76 00:04:38,461 --> 00:04:40,229 There's that rumbling. 77 00:04:40,229 --> 00:04:43,700 And then for Mary, the coke finally pops out. 78 00:04:43,700 --> 00:04:47,787 She finally understands something, and the result of that 79 00:04:48,688 --> 00:04:51,808 is great, great joy. 80 00:04:52,892 --> 00:04:53,810 All right, let me 81 00:04:53,810 --> 00:04:58,014 read verses 46 through 50 and I'm going to give you my three points, 82 00:04:58,014 --> 00:05:00,566 which are what Mary understood 83 00:05:00,566 --> 00:05:03,569 and what I want us to understand as we head into advent. 84 00:05:04,437 --> 00:05:05,488 This is where it starts. 85 00:05:05,488 --> 00:05:08,491 And Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord. 86 00:05:09,092 --> 00:05:11,311 My spirit rejoices in God. 87 00:05:11,311 --> 00:05:12,979 My Savior. 88 00:05:12,979 --> 00:05:15,982 For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. 89 00:05:16,316 --> 00:05:19,652 For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed. 90 00:05:20,069 --> 00:05:24,207 Then this for he who is mighty has done 91 00:05:24,207 --> 00:05:28,111 great things for me, and holy is his name, 92 00:05:28,761 --> 00:05:31,531 and his mercy is for those who fear him 93 00:05:31,531 --> 00:05:34,517 from generation to generation. 94 00:05:35,268 --> 00:05:36,769 Mary understood three things. 95 00:05:36,769 --> 00:05:37,737 These are my three points. 96 00:05:37,737 --> 00:05:42,558 She understood three things about God, and they're all mentioned in those verses. 97 00:05:42,558 --> 00:05:46,195 First, God is mighty, God is mighty. 98 00:05:46,412 --> 00:05:49,315 The second is God is holy, 99 00:05:49,315 --> 00:05:52,218 God is holy, and the third is God his mercy. 100 00:05:52,218 --> 00:05:53,519 God is mighty. 101 00:05:53,519 --> 00:05:55,371 God is holy. 102 00:05:55,371 --> 00:05:56,456 God is mercy. 103 00:05:56,456 --> 00:05:58,825 All right, first, God is mighty. 104 00:05:58,825 --> 00:05:59,192 Everyone. 105 00:05:59,192 --> 00:06:02,278 So I meet somebody who really struggles with the virgin birth 106 00:06:02,929 --> 00:06:05,598 like it's just blows their mind. They can't. 107 00:06:05,598 --> 00:06:07,367 They don't believe it. They can't understand it. 108 00:06:07,367 --> 00:06:10,620 And I always think that's an odd thing to get stuck on. 109 00:06:11,371 --> 00:06:14,357 I mean, in one way it's understandable. 110 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:16,759 In another way, it's not the way it's understandable. 111 00:06:16,759 --> 00:06:20,997 Mary struggled with the virgin birth and she had an angel telling her 112 00:06:21,631 --> 00:06:24,534 and when Gabriel says, you're going to have a baby, she said, 113 00:06:24,534 --> 00:06:27,770 how can that be right? 114 00:06:27,770 --> 00:06:30,089 How is that possible? 115 00:06:30,089 --> 00:06:34,877 And Gabriel in verse 37 says, nothing is impossible with God. 116 00:06:35,912 --> 00:06:38,698 And that's that's where it's not. 117 00:06:38,698 --> 00:06:42,952 I have I have trouble understanding when people struggle with the virgin birth, 118 00:06:44,003 --> 00:06:46,038 because if there is a God and 119 00:06:46,038 --> 00:06:49,041 he created all that is, 120 00:06:49,342 --> 00:06:52,345 how difficult is the virgin birth? 121 00:06:53,329 --> 00:06:54,864 Yeah, I love this. 122 00:06:54,864 --> 00:06:59,485 I get into this that the first hundred and 60 years of modern science, 123 00:07:00,353 --> 00:07:03,356 scientists believed in what was called the static universe. 124 00:07:03,873 --> 00:07:07,343 What that meant was they believed that matter 125 00:07:07,343 --> 00:07:11,547 and energy and time were eternal, that they had always existed. 126 00:07:12,231 --> 00:07:15,234 And the real question that science needs to figure out 127 00:07:15,601 --> 00:07:19,372 was how matter and energy over time, 128 00:07:19,772 --> 00:07:25,344 kind of organized together to create such a complex world. 129 00:07:25,344 --> 00:07:27,930 That was their big question, 130 00:07:27,930 --> 00:07:31,350 until a man named Albert Einstein came up with a theory 131 00:07:31,350 --> 00:07:35,238 called the Theory of relativity, and that began, just 132 00:07:36,205 --> 00:07:39,108 an avalanche of data 133 00:07:39,108 --> 00:07:42,111 proving beyond a shadow of a doubt 134 00:07:42,378 --> 00:07:45,381 that matter, energy and time 135 00:07:45,448 --> 00:07:49,952 were not eternal, that all three of those came 136 00:07:49,952 --> 00:07:53,156 into existence in a moment that scientists 137 00:07:53,156 --> 00:07:56,159 call the singularity. 138 00:07:56,459 --> 00:07:57,627 Right. 139 00:07:57,627 --> 00:07:59,929 And what this is, this is really interesting to me. 140 00:07:59,929 --> 00:08:01,230 So I get it. 141 00:08:01,230 --> 00:08:04,217 I get geeky about this, but, 142 00:08:04,767 --> 00:08:07,770 when he was like, figuring out 143 00:08:08,187 --> 00:08:11,274 his famous equation equals n squared, 144 00:08:11,841 --> 00:08:14,844 he kept making a mathematical mistake. 145 00:08:15,027 --> 00:08:18,931 And there was a Russian mathematician named Alexander Friedmann who wrote him 146 00:08:18,931 --> 00:08:22,518 several times and said, I see the mistake you're making in your equation. 147 00:08:22,518 --> 00:08:24,203 If you're correct that I think 148 00:08:24,203 --> 00:08:27,206 your equation will work and your theory will be proved right. 149 00:08:28,191 --> 00:08:32,028 And finally, Albert Einstein wrote him back and he said, I have known 150 00:08:32,028 --> 00:08:35,515 about that mistake for a while, but I could not get myself to correct it. 151 00:08:35,631 --> 00:08:36,449 Then he said, this 152 00:08:37,767 --> 00:08:40,770 because if my theory is correct, 153 00:08:40,887 --> 00:08:42,872 the question about the universe is no longer 154 00:08:42,872 --> 00:08:45,858 when or how, 155 00:08:46,142 --> 00:08:48,211 but who. 156 00:08:48,211 --> 00:08:49,795 What Einstein understood 157 00:08:49,795 --> 00:08:52,949 was that his theory implied a creator. 158 00:08:52,949 --> 00:08:56,719 And if there is a creator who created all that is really, 159 00:08:56,719 --> 00:09:00,990 how hard is it for him to fertilize an egg 160 00:09:00,990 --> 00:09:03,993 without any help, right? 161 00:09:05,027 --> 00:09:08,030 This whole idea 162 00:09:08,331 --> 00:09:11,117 that Jesus came means that 163 00:09:11,117 --> 00:09:13,920 not only did Jesus come, but the gospel came. 164 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:17,940 The good news that God is the God of the impossible, 165 00:09:19,258 --> 00:09:21,477 that God can save someone like you 166 00:09:21,477 --> 00:09:25,464 and someone like me without violating his justice. 167 00:09:25,464 --> 00:09:28,467 And he does it with Jesus 168 00:09:28,584 --> 00:09:31,337 going to the cross. 169 00:09:31,337 --> 00:09:34,340 Christmas is a time when we celebrate 170 00:09:34,857 --> 00:09:39,929 like it's like that kid's song that we taught our kids a long time ago. 171 00:09:40,346 --> 00:09:43,916 My God is so big, so strong and so mighty. 172 00:09:43,916 --> 00:09:47,003 There is nothing my God cannot do. 173 00:09:48,204 --> 00:09:50,156 That's the first thing 174 00:09:50,156 --> 00:09:53,159 that goes that Mary understands, 175 00:09:53,392 --> 00:09:57,930 that begins to build this joy, that she realizes 176 00:09:57,930 --> 00:10:02,518 there's a God in heaven and there is nothing that he cannot do. 177 00:10:03,269 --> 00:10:05,004 That's the first thing. 178 00:10:05,004 --> 00:10:08,007 The second thing comes from the same verse, is that God is holy. 179 00:10:08,791 --> 00:10:11,777 It says, for he who is mighty has done great things for me, 180 00:10:12,061 --> 00:10:15,047 and holy is his name. 181 00:10:15,715 --> 00:10:18,718 Holy holiness is scary. 182 00:10:18,985 --> 00:10:21,087 At least it should be. 183 00:10:21,087 --> 00:10:24,357 It's the aspect of God that is so pure 184 00:10:25,441 --> 00:10:30,563 that it is overwhelming, that it is actually dangerous to come close to 185 00:10:31,647 --> 00:10:33,416 pure goodness. 186 00:10:33,416 --> 00:10:36,319 Like pure evil 187 00:10:36,319 --> 00:10:39,021 is too much for a human being 188 00:10:39,021 --> 00:10:41,757 to actually experience. 189 00:10:41,757 --> 00:10:44,760 And holiness is the the. 190 00:10:44,844 --> 00:10:47,997 The best analogy that I can get for holiness is electricity. 191 00:10:48,748 --> 00:10:52,918 I mean, electricity is wonderful, but electricity is very dangerous. 192 00:10:53,552 --> 00:10:54,053 You don't 193 00:10:55,037 --> 00:10:57,840 you don't approach electricity on your terms. 194 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,059 You approach electricity on its terms. 195 00:11:00,059 --> 00:11:03,446 You don't go willy nilly into electricity grabbing live wires. 196 00:11:03,829 --> 00:11:06,832 Right. It will always have the same impact. 197 00:11:07,083 --> 00:11:09,602 I worked as an electrician's 198 00:11:09,602 --> 00:11:12,588 apprentice one summer when I was in college, 199 00:11:13,105 --> 00:11:16,942 and, the owner of the company was a friend of the family. 200 00:11:16,942 --> 00:11:17,927 That's how I got the job. 201 00:11:17,927 --> 00:11:22,698 Because I've told you over and over again that I am not handy right at all. 202 00:11:23,749 --> 00:11:25,701 So the first day of work, 203 00:11:25,701 --> 00:11:28,070 I was riding with this electrician 204 00:11:28,070 --> 00:11:31,307 and I said, listen, I thought I'd come clean. 205 00:11:31,674 --> 00:11:34,577 Listen, I just want you to know that, 206 00:11:34,577 --> 00:11:37,580 I don't know much about tools or anything. 207 00:11:37,947 --> 00:11:39,298 Right? 208 00:11:39,298 --> 00:11:42,151 And I still remember he was driving and he said, 209 00:11:42,151 --> 00:11:45,137 yeah, you can't be as bad as the kid I had last, last summer. 210 00:11:45,588 --> 00:11:47,339 And I said, I think that might have been my brother. 211 00:11:47,339 --> 00:11:49,141 And he goes, oh, my, oh, God, like that. 212 00:11:51,660 --> 00:11:53,662 But the thing I remember about 213 00:11:53,662 --> 00:11:56,632 this guy is that he worked very fast, and sometimes he wouldn't 214 00:11:56,632 --> 00:11:58,217 turn the breaker off. 215 00:11:58,217 --> 00:12:02,671 And one day he was moving too fast and he touched a live wire. 216 00:12:02,671 --> 00:12:06,325 It knocked him off the ladder and he almost bit his tongue in half. 217 00:12:07,910 --> 00:12:10,913 You don't mess with electricity. 218 00:12:10,913 --> 00:12:12,681 That's holiness. 219 00:12:12,681 --> 00:12:14,250 That's holiness. 220 00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:15,901 You know, in the Old Testament, 221 00:12:15,901 --> 00:12:20,306 the Jews would worship at a place called the Tabernacle, which was a tent. 222 00:12:20,673 --> 00:12:23,642 And then later on the temple right in. 223 00:12:23,642 --> 00:12:26,479 And both structures were built 224 00:12:26,479 --> 00:12:29,782 to, to show the Israelites that the closer 225 00:12:29,782 --> 00:12:32,968 you got to God, the more dangerous it became because of his holiness. 226 00:12:34,136 --> 00:12:37,339 In fact, there was a the closest anyone could get to God 227 00:12:37,339 --> 00:12:40,342 was called the Holy of Holies was a little room 228 00:12:40,526 --> 00:12:43,279 that only one person could go in once a year. 229 00:12:43,279 --> 00:12:44,180 That was the high priest, 230 00:12:45,147 --> 00:12:46,015 and before he went 231 00:12:46,015 --> 00:12:49,101 in, he had to bathe himself a certain way. 232 00:12:49,101 --> 00:12:53,372 Then he had to put on certain clothes, and then he had to make a sacrifice 233 00:12:53,839 --> 00:12:57,510 and bring the blood in for his own sin, to atone for his sin 234 00:12:58,077 --> 00:13:00,863 before he went into the Holy of Holies. 235 00:13:00,863 --> 00:13:03,499 He would have bells put around his robe 236 00:13:03,499 --> 00:13:07,052 and a rope tied to his ankle, just in case 237 00:13:08,154 --> 00:13:11,423 he was not approaching God on God's terms. 238 00:13:11,423 --> 00:13:13,192 And he dropped dead. 239 00:13:13,192 --> 00:13:16,529 They would know because the bells would quit ringing, 240 00:13:17,279 --> 00:13:19,799 and they could pull him out with the rope 241 00:13:19,799 --> 00:13:22,802 that was tied around his ankle. 242 00:13:22,852 --> 00:13:25,704 Holiness is scary. 243 00:13:25,704 --> 00:13:30,209 Mary includes it in her song of joy. 244 00:13:31,644 --> 00:13:35,898 She is not scared of the holiness of God. 245 00:13:37,082 --> 00:13:38,851 Right. You know, there's a famous, 246 00:13:40,019 --> 00:13:42,955 like, passage in a book by C.S. 247 00:13:42,955 --> 00:13:45,407 Lewis called The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe. 248 00:13:45,407 --> 00:13:48,027 It's a kid's book. It's a great book. 249 00:13:48,027 --> 00:13:50,129 But the Christ figure is, 250 00:13:50,129 --> 00:13:53,132 a giant lion named Aslan. 251 00:13:53,816 --> 00:13:56,819 And one of the little girls, 252 00:13:57,019 --> 00:13:59,872 when she hears about Aslan, 253 00:13:59,872 --> 00:14:03,209 she says, well, is he a safe lion? 254 00:14:03,692 --> 00:14:05,811 And the answer comes back. 255 00:14:05,811 --> 00:14:08,030 Of course he's not safe. 256 00:14:08,030 --> 00:14:10,049 Nobody said anything about him being safe. 257 00:14:10,049 --> 00:14:11,817 He's good. 258 00:14:11,817 --> 00:14:13,285 He's the king. 259 00:14:13,285 --> 00:14:16,372 I tell you, that's what Mary understood 260 00:14:17,239 --> 00:14:19,675 about God, 261 00:14:19,675 --> 00:14:22,678 that he was holy. 262 00:14:23,913 --> 00:14:26,732 But he had become 263 00:14:26,732 --> 00:14:29,001 safe for her because of his goodness. 264 00:14:29,001 --> 00:14:33,889 You know, there's, a weird story in the Old Testament where Moses 265 00:14:33,889 --> 00:14:37,793 goes up on the mountain, to get the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. 266 00:14:39,211 --> 00:14:41,030 And, he and God tells 267 00:14:41,030 --> 00:14:44,033 Moses, tell the people, don't even touch the mountain, 268 00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:47,670 because my holiness has gone down through the soil. 269 00:14:47,753 --> 00:14:49,889 So if they touch the mountain, they're going to die, 270 00:14:49,889 --> 00:14:52,141 and they're going to want to come. 271 00:14:52,141 --> 00:14:54,526 They're going to try to break through to get to me, 272 00:14:55,678 --> 00:14:57,529 because the pure goodness of God 273 00:14:57,529 --> 00:15:00,566 is what we long for, what we were made for. 274 00:15:01,317 --> 00:15:04,320 And we are, like Maus, drawn to a flame. 275 00:15:06,021 --> 00:15:08,240 But Mary says, 276 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:12,895 God has done something for me with the coming of Jesus. 277 00:15:13,379 --> 00:15:17,283 That makes it so that I don't have to run away from the holiness of God. 278 00:15:17,283 --> 00:15:20,269 But I can run toward him. 279 00:15:20,569 --> 00:15:23,522 I can run into his arms. 280 00:15:23,522 --> 00:15:26,842 She says, God is mighty, God is holy. 281 00:15:26,842 --> 00:15:30,529 And then my third point is God has mercy. 282 00:15:31,130 --> 00:15:33,499 This is what he says. 283 00:15:33,499 --> 00:15:34,583 She says, my soul. 284 00:15:34,583 --> 00:15:36,302 I'm going to read the whole four verses. 285 00:15:36,302 --> 00:15:37,920 My soul magnifies the Lord. 286 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,773 My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 287 00:15:40,773 --> 00:15:43,258 For he's looked on the humble state of his servant. 288 00:15:43,258 --> 00:15:46,261 For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed, 289 00:15:46,729 --> 00:15:50,249 for he is mighty, has done great things for me, and holy is his name 290 00:15:50,633 --> 00:15:55,521 and his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 291 00:15:57,206 --> 00:16:00,209 There is a movement of love 292 00:16:00,743 --> 00:16:03,896 that is the greatest movement of love our world has ever known. 293 00:16:03,896 --> 00:16:07,383 It is weaved into the fabric of who we are. 294 00:16:07,383 --> 00:16:09,618 It's a three part movement. 295 00:16:09,618 --> 00:16:13,789 Is the three part movement is to give up, go to and be with. 296 00:16:14,306 --> 00:16:14,690 That's it. 297 00:16:14,690 --> 00:16:19,461 Give up, go to be with every mother knows that movement. 298 00:16:19,862 --> 00:16:25,317 Instinctively a mother hears her child cry out in another room. 299 00:16:25,317 --> 00:16:29,722 She drops what she's doing and runs to her child. 300 00:16:29,722 --> 00:16:32,725 That's giving up. Go to be with. 301 00:16:33,058 --> 00:16:37,713 If you have a great friend, you count on that movement. 302 00:16:37,713 --> 00:16:40,849 If you call your friend in the middle of the night and say, I need you now, 303 00:16:42,117 --> 00:16:44,787 a friend who loves you will crawl out of bed, 304 00:16:44,787 --> 00:16:46,672 put on his coat, meet you at the hospital. 305 00:16:46,672 --> 00:16:49,441 He will give up. Go to be with 306 00:16:50,959 --> 00:16:55,381 700 years before the angel Gabriel appears 307 00:16:55,381 --> 00:16:58,817 to Mary to tell her that she's going to have a baby. 308 00:16:59,868 --> 00:17:02,871 The prophet Isaiah writes this. 309 00:17:04,790 --> 00:17:07,009 This is in Isaiah seven 310 00:17:07,009 --> 00:17:09,962 says, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. 311 00:17:09,962 --> 00:17:13,248 Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 312 00:17:13,465 --> 00:17:16,468 and shall call his name Emmanuel. 313 00:17:17,603 --> 00:17:20,823 That same prophecy is reiterated by an angel 314 00:17:20,823 --> 00:17:23,809 to Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew, 315 00:17:24,626 --> 00:17:27,329 and he adds, you shall call his name Emmanuel, 316 00:17:27,329 --> 00:17:30,332 which means God with us. 317 00:17:30,783 --> 00:17:32,968 What Mary realized is that 318 00:17:32,968 --> 00:17:35,971 God had joined in that movement, 319 00:17:36,321 --> 00:17:40,893 that the coming of Jesus was God giving up, going to being with. 320 00:17:41,577 --> 00:17:44,179 And that's about all she understood at that time. 321 00:17:44,179 --> 00:17:47,332 But she also understood that the the baby 322 00:17:47,332 --> 00:17:50,335 she would hold was white hot 323 00:17:50,369 --> 00:17:54,056 with the holiness of God, yet she could hold him 324 00:17:55,457 --> 00:17:57,543 because God had come 325 00:17:57,543 --> 00:18:01,497 with mercy, and that mercy was in Jesus. 326 00:18:01,497 --> 00:18:04,500 Then going to the cross 327 00:18:04,650 --> 00:18:07,653 and dying on the cross for us. 328 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,073 You know, I remember I mentioned the tabernacle in the temple, 329 00:18:11,073 --> 00:18:15,961 that before the priest could have, the high priest could ever get close to God. 330 00:18:16,528 --> 00:18:21,350 The high priest had to make a sacrifice for his own sin and bring that blood 331 00:18:21,350 --> 00:18:26,305 sacrifice into the holy of Holies to atone for his sin. 332 00:18:27,122 --> 00:18:32,478 This is what the writer of Hebrews says about Jesus says he entered once 333 00:18:32,478 --> 00:18:37,616 for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, 334 00:18:38,100 --> 00:18:40,919 but by means of his own blood, thus securing 335 00:18:40,919 --> 00:18:43,922 an eternal redemption. 336 00:18:44,089 --> 00:18:47,793 It says that Jesus blood was different, right? 337 00:18:47,793 --> 00:18:50,779 That Jesus blood was not for his own sin, 338 00:18:51,380 --> 00:18:53,665 but for your sin, for my sin. 339 00:18:54,750 --> 00:18:55,918 And then the Gospels tell 340 00:18:55,918 --> 00:19:01,106 us the moment that Jesus dies on the cross, the curtain in the temple 341 00:19:01,106 --> 00:19:04,226 that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple 342 00:19:04,526 --> 00:19:07,229 tore into. 343 00:19:07,229 --> 00:19:10,349 And what that meant was that God had done something 344 00:19:11,550 --> 00:19:14,553 that would allow people like you and people like me 345 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,056 to run to him 346 00:19:18,056 --> 00:19:21,059 and not away from him. 347 00:19:21,360 --> 00:19:23,245 So what Mary understood, 348 00:19:23,245 --> 00:19:26,748 and that resulted in great joy, 349 00:19:28,016 --> 00:19:30,769 was that there was a God 350 00:19:30,769 --> 00:19:34,523 who is mighty, who could do the impossible, 351 00:19:35,340 --> 00:19:40,012 who could come as a human being and pay the price 352 00:19:40,562 --> 00:19:43,615 so that somebody like you and somebody like me could actually 353 00:19:43,849 --> 00:19:47,002 be saved without violating his justice, 354 00:19:47,703 --> 00:19:50,639 that God was holy, that he wasn't safe. 355 00:19:50,639 --> 00:19:52,441 But he was good. 356 00:19:52,441 --> 00:19:55,127 He was good. And then finally, the God 357 00:19:56,094 --> 00:19:57,746 was mercy 358 00:19:57,746 --> 00:20:02,818 that God would provide a way to heal the brokenness deep down 359 00:20:02,818 --> 00:20:08,273 inside of us that would inject broke healing into the brokenness of our world. 360 00:20:08,790 --> 00:20:11,560 So it would never be the same. 361 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,029 So this is my thing 362 00:20:14,029 --> 00:20:17,699 as you go in this sprint toward Christmas, 363 00:20:18,717 --> 00:20:21,353 as you see Christmas specials 364 00:20:21,353 --> 00:20:24,356 pop up on TV as you 365 00:20:24,423 --> 00:20:27,409 go to office, Christmas parties, as you hear 366 00:20:27,593 --> 00:20:30,596 Christmas music, whatever that music is, 367 00:20:31,496 --> 00:20:33,865 be reminded 368 00:20:33,865 --> 00:20:36,501 of the Magnificat 369 00:20:36,501 --> 00:20:40,072 of what Mary sang about God. 370 00:20:40,072 --> 00:20:43,141 Be reminded that you serve a God who is mighty, 371 00:20:43,709 --> 00:20:46,712 who can do the impossible, who is holy, 372 00:20:47,663 --> 00:20:50,432 but above all is mercy. 373 00:20:50,432 --> 00:20:52,968 And then sing with Mary. 374 00:20:52,968 --> 00:20:55,037 My soul magnifies 375 00:20:55,037 --> 00:20:59,124 the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 376 00:20:59,124 --> 00:21:02,778 And let joy be the theme in your heart. 377 00:21:03,512 --> 00:21:07,849 Let it be irrepressible and glorious joy for you. 378 00:21:08,550 --> 00:21:09,501 All right. Would you pray with me? 379 00:21:12,054 --> 00:21:13,472 Father in heaven, we come to you. 380 00:21:13,472 --> 00:21:18,260 And, Christmas is usually not a time, at least for me, that I think 381 00:21:19,344 --> 00:21:23,966 of your mighty, mighty ness, your holiness, your mercy. 382 00:21:23,966 --> 00:21:25,100 I think of Jesus. 383 00:21:25,100 --> 00:21:28,587 But that is why you sent Jesus. 384 00:21:28,587 --> 00:21:31,590 That is why Jesus came. 385 00:21:31,707 --> 00:21:34,159 And the whole movement 386 00:21:34,159 --> 00:21:37,162 to give out go to be with is overwhelming. 387 00:21:38,213 --> 00:21:42,384 I pray for, all of us, as we approach Christmas. 388 00:21:42,384 --> 00:21:47,072 That will be a time where Joy would begin to well up inside of us 389 00:21:47,756 --> 00:21:50,759 as we understand what Mary understood. 390 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,229 And we worship you where we say our souls 391 00:21:54,229 --> 00:21:57,232 magnify the Lord, and our spirits rejoice 392 00:21:58,050 --> 00:22:00,168 in God our Savior. Thanks. 393 00:22:00,168 --> 00:22:01,370 Thanks for joy. 394 00:22:01,370 --> 00:22:04,022 Thanks for Jesus. We pray this in his name. 395 00:22:04,022 --> 00:22:04,456 Amen.