Mary's Song

Often times in life when good things or blessing come our way we take them and enjoy them. Many times we get to points in our life in which we expect good things to be the norm, we take them for granted and we start to forget where those good things come from. But James 1:17 tells us that “every good and perfect gift is from the Father above” So how do we respond to those gifts? Our passage of study this evening Luke 1:46-55 records a song sung by Mary the Mother of the Lord Jesus. This song demonstrates that when good things come our way…”God alone should be the center of our praise” There are at least three ways Mary demonstrates this

Before we look at the passage I want to fill you in On what just happened to Mary

I. Mary praises God for who He is. Verses 46-47

Verses 46 “Soul magnifies” “The Magnificat”
Magnify-to increase apparent size or to attribute much importance to.
This actually gives us one of the purposes for praise…so others will see how great God is.
Verses 47 “my spirit rejoices in God MY SAVIOR”
Is God your Savior?
GOSPEL we need to rejoice in our salvation.

T: It is interesting because when we start to praise God for who He is (The Savior) we realize that He is a personal God who is intimately involved in our lives. Which we see with Mary in these next verses because…

II. Mary praises God for His special favor on her. Verses 48-50

“the generations call His servant blessed” Verses 48 Why?

Some misconceptions & false teaching about Mary, that are not backed by Scripture. I don’t want to offend but I want to tell you the truth from the Bible.
These beliefs are based upon man’s tradition
1. Perpetual virgin (We know from the Scriptures that Jesus had half brothers and sisters) Mathew 1:25 tells us “Joseph knew her not until she gave birth top a Son”
2. Assumption of Mary. (Mary’s body did not decay)
3. Was sinless (Immaculate conception) Remember she said God was “Her savior”
4. Should be prayed to (Mary hails Jesus)
5. Mother of God (She was the Mother of the Lord Jesus (John 2:1) as He came in human flesh but God has no Mother) “Just as Christ’s human nature had no father, His divine nature had no mother”

These are not reasons why Mary is called blessed

Here are reasons why we call her blessed

Because He uses His strength and purity to do a great thing in Mary’s life. Verses 49
-She was the mother God the Father chose for His Son. Spent much time with Him (Just think of that special time) (clip at church))

He has mercy on those who fear Him Verses 50
-Mercy-compassion and kindness. God found favor in her because she did “fear” Him (have respect for Him)
-She was part of God’s prophetic plan (Isaiah 7:14)

From this we learn that we need to praise and give glory to God for the things He has specifically done for us.
What are those things in your life? Maybe it is your spouse, Children, your job, your financial situation, friendships

What are the ways He specifically uses you? Ministry, impact on your neighbors. Specifically for moms…He gave you children to impact

When you come to church to worship the Lord one of the things that should be on your mind is all the blessings you have received from the Lord.

T: So we have found that we should like Mary praise God for who He is and praise God for His special favor on us and now we will find that we should praise God for His special favor on His people.

III. Mary praises God for His special favor on His people.

-He takes down those who go against His people, Justice will be served by our Lord for His people. Verses 51-52a Miriam in Ex 15 praise God for taking down the enemies of His people.

-He helps those in need. Verses 52b-54 (Shannon baptism illustration)
Maybe you are need?

-He has a plan to save His people. Verses 55 That blessing promised to Abraham comes through the offer of Salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ and we know that all those who believe have a reason to praise Him because their eternal home is with Him.

Did you know that sometimes it is difficult to rejoice and praise God when others are blessed?

Sometimes jealousy sets in because we feel that we are more deserving or that we never get blessed and that person does.

When I was little my mom and the red ribbon. Did a little research. Italians Malocchio “Evil Eye” believed this protected them from the “evil Eye”

How do you know if this is you? If you are always criticizing… they can’t afford that… they should do this or that. Or you are generally not happy for other people when they are blessed.

Thomas Lindberg said…One sign of jealousy is when it's easier to show sympathy and "weep with those who weep" than it is to exhibit joy and "rejoice with those who rejoice."
This passage helps us because the way we can combat falling to envy and jealousy is praising God for how He has blessed those around us.
…be happy for them, rejoice and celebrate with them.
In conclusion we see that God alone should be the center of our praise. Because of who He is, His special favor on us individually and His special favor on His people.