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Amen. All right, we're there in Luke chapter number 1. And of course, we've been going through a series entitled Celebrating Christ during this Christmas season. And we've been making our way, working our way through Luke chapter 1 into Luke chapter 2 as we've been looking at the stories and the events that lead up to the Christmas story. And if you remember last week, we were in Luke chapter 1. And we looked at the angelic birth announcement of John the Baptist on Sunday morning. We really learned about Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, who is the man whom Jesus said was the greatest man born among women. And then of course, last night we looked at the angelic birth announcement of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we saw Gabriel appear to Mary and tell her that she would be with child. This morning, we're going to continue with the story, continue to pick up right where we left off. And at this point, if you look down at verse number 39, of course, Mary has been told that she's going to conceive, and she already has. The Holy Moses came upon her. In verse 39, the Bible says this, and Mary arose in those days. Now, the phrase there, in those days, is referring to, if you remember earlier in the chapter, we saw in verse 26, it said in the sixth month, referring to the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. So in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, Mary has now conceived, and she arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. Of course, Elizabeth has also received a miraculous conception. She's not a virgin, of course. Mary received the virgin birth. Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist was that of natural means with her husband, Zacharias. But if you remember, we learned about the fact that they were well-stricken, and she had already been barren, even during her youth. It's miraculous in the sense that God gave them a child after years of being barren, and now being in their old age. In verse 41, it says, and it came to pass that when Elizabeth, this is an interesting passage of Scripture that you may or may not be aware of, but you should be aware of. It says, and it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, notice there, verse 41, the babe, referring to John the Baptist in the womb of Elizabeth, leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. So the Bible tells us there at the end of verse 40 that Mary enters into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth, and then in verse 41, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. Notice verse 42, and she spake out with a loud voice and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. She says in verse 43, and whence, the word whence means from what place, from what source did this come, she says, and whence is this to me? Notice what Elizabeth says to Mary, who has now has the Lord Jesus Christ in her womb. She says that the mother of my Lord should come to me. And then in verse 44, for lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy, and blessed is she that believed. And if you remember, that was unlike to Zacharias. Zacharias was told by the angel that Elizabeth would conceive, and he questioned it out of criticism, out of a critical spirit. And Mary was told by the same angel that she would conceive, and she questioned it as well. The question is almost worded very similarly, but hers was out of curiosity because she did believe, and here Elizabeth says, and blessed is she that believed, for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And this passage that we read up to this point, verses 39 through 45, are not the emphasis that I want to focus in on this morning. They're more of an introduction, but I do want to just highlight the story that, it's an interesting story that here we have Mary with Jesus in her womb, and we have Elizabeth with John the Baptist in her womb. And when Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, who's six months ahead of her, and Mary salutes Elizabeth, the Bible says that the babe leaped in her womb, and it tells us that as soon as she heard the voice of thy salutation, and she said it sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And of course, John the Baptist is in the womb, and he hears the salutation of Mary, and he leaps in the womb of Elizabeth at the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, even in the womb. And of course, we have Elizabeth's confession. She says, and whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? And I just want to give you just a couple of introductory thoughts before we jump into the main text for this morning. If you would, keep your place there in Luke chapter 1. That's obviously our text for this morning. But go with me if you would to the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 27. You open up your Bible just right in the center. More than likely fall in the book of Psalms. Right after Psalms, you have the book of Proverbs, Proverbs chapter 27. It's interesting to me that Mary would go visit Elizabeth. It seems appropriate, but I want you to remember when we read the Bible, especially when we read these narratives, we want to, like I've heard it said before, we want to put flesh on the Bible. We want to put ourselves into the story. We want to remember that Mary was a real person, and Elizabeth was a real person, Zacharias was a real person. And we talked about this earlier in the series as we've been studying this out, and we're going to come back to it at the end of the sermon this morning, that Mary has a lot of pressure on her. She has a lot of stress on her. Here we have a young lady who has been married contractually, but has not consummated yet the marriage, has not consummated her relationship. And now she's being told that she's with child, that the Holy Ghost is going to come upon her, and she's going to have a baby. And of course we understand that she took that well because she accepted it. She accepted in contentment what the Lord had given her as the handmaiden of the Lord, how she declared herself. However, Mary had to have known that there would be those who would not understand, there would be those who would not believe, there would be those that would accuse her of fornication, accuse her of improper actions. She had to have known that with this task that God had given her, there would be some reproach as a result. And here we find Mary, who probably feels very alone. Honestly, probably doesn't have many people she can talk to. I mean, what kind of teenage girl is able to— we know that a teenage girl that ends up pregnant out of wedlock, it's already difficult, just in a normal sense, to be able to talk about that and find someone to talk about that. Imagine Mary, who actually didn't do anything, who actually was still a virgin, and who are you going to talk to, to explain that to, to get comfort, to be able to get encouraged? But she goes to Elizabeth, because if there was anybody on this earth who would understand, it would be Elizabeth, because though Elizabeth did not receive a virgin conception, her conception was also miraculous. So we see that Mary, she does a very smart thing here, and I believe that Mary was a very godly young lady, and that's why God chose her, but she does a smart thing at a time when she might feel a lot of pressure, at a time when she might feel a lot of stress, at a time when she might feel like things are not going well, at a time, what I've learned over the last 11 years of ministry, that when people feel pressure, when people feel stress, when people feel pressed out of measure, when they feel like things aren't going well, they usually detach and they isolate themselves, which, by the way, is the worst thing you could do. The Bible tells us that the devil is a roaring lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour. And if you ever watch Lions Hunt, they always go after those who are isolated. Or off by themselves. It's interesting to me that human nature tells us, when you need church the most, when you need people the most, when you need godly friends the most, we tend to want to isolate and make ourselves pray for the devil. But not Mary. Mary was under pressure, and Mary was under stress, and Mary had a lot going on, and instead of doing what the average person does, which is to run and isolate and skip church and get out of church and not call back your friends and not get connected with people, she does the opposite. The Bible tells us there in verse 39, And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into the city of Judah, and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. Mary understood that she needed a friend. Proverbs 27 and verse 17, the Bible says this, Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. We see the wisdom of this young lady Mary. She's in trouble. She's not pregnant out of wedlock, but people are going to say that. She hasn't done anything inappropriate, but people are going to say that. And instead of running and isolating, she runs to a friend, because iron sharpeneth iron. We see the wisdom of this young lady, but I don't want you to notice, not only do we see the need for friends, and by the way, you were created for community. You were not created to live this Christian life alone. Not only do we see the need for friendship, but I want you to notice, secondly, just by way of introduction, we see the sanctity of human life. You're there in Proverbs chapter 27. Go, maybe you would, to the book of Jeremiah. You have Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 1. Here we have two ladies expecting. One was in the sixth month of her pregnancy. The other one had just conceived. The previous verse had the angel Gabriel come to her and tell her, the Holy Ghost will come upon you, and you're going to conceive. We have these two stages of pregnancy, and yet I want you to notice that when Jesus in the womb, who had just been conceived, enters into the house, where John the Baptist in the womb is, the Bible tells us that John the Baptist, and we don't understand how all that works, of course, we know that John the Baptist was filled from the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb, is what we were told earlier in the chapter, but that he acknowledged the life that was in the womb of Mary, and the life that was in the womb of Elizabeth, leaped with joy. And it teaches us something about the sanctity of human life. It teaches us something that we need to understand in America in 2021, and it is that the life in the womb is still a life. It's not a fetus. It's not a cluster of cells. It's not just a bunch of materials that are gathered together. No, Jesus in the womb was a life. John in the womb was a life, and God had a plan and a purpose for both of them. And by the way, let me say this. God has a plan and a purpose for every baby in the womb. Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 5, notice what the Bible says. Here we have God speaking to Jeremiah the prophet. He says, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. This thing about the sanctity of human life, and just to be clear, we're talking about the fact that abortion is murder. Look, if you're here this morning and you've had an abortion, I'm not trying to beat up on you, but I'm telling you, the Bible teaches it's murder. You say, What should I do? Confess it to God and don't ever do it again. But here God says, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before thou camest forth out of the womb, referring to birth, I sanctified thee and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Do you know that God has a purpose and God has a plan for every child in the womb? And God has a purpose and a plan for every child out of the womb. And God has a purpose and God has a plan for every grown adult here that was a child at one point. But we see the sanctity of human life. And this idea of the sanctity of human life, keep your place right there in Jeremiah, because we're going to come back towards it here in a minute. Go back to Luke, if you would. Keep your place in Jeremiah and go back to Luke chapter 1. It's not a political issue. It's a biblical issue. I didn't read to you from some political article. I read to you from the Word of God. So we see Mary's wisdom in the need of a friend. We see the sanctity of human life. And again, I hope it's okay. I haven't even started my sermon yet. Those are just introductory statements there. And I want you to notice, what I want to focus in on begins in verse number 46 of Luke chapter 1, where the Bible says this. Remember, she just walked into Elizabeth's house. Elizabeth, John in Elizabeth's womb, recognized the presence of Jesus Christ, leaped in the womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. Elizabeth confessed the fact that Mary had came, the mother of her Lord. And here's Mary's response, verse 46. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. Now, what we're going to see in this passage here, from verses 46 down through 56, is a passage of scripture in which Mary gives a prayer or a worship, an expression. And as Mary's speaking to God, about God, about what God is doing in her life, it's known as a prayer, known as a worship song. It's called, if you want to know the term that theologians use, it's called the Magnificat of Mary. The word magnificat is a Latin term meaning to magnify, taken from that first phrase there, that first verse in verse 46, when it says, And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. And what I'd like to do this morning is I'd like to give you three thoughts in regards to Mary's magnificat, Mary's praise and worship to God. I want you to notice three things that Mary understood about herself and, more importantly, about her God. And I'd like you to write these down if you're able to. On the back of your Chorus of the Week, there's a place for you to jot down some notes. I'd like to tell our church people that I don't necessarily preach to be heard. I'd like to preach to be repeated. I'd like you to write these things down. You say, what for? So that you can teach others also. I want you to notice what Mary understood. First of all, if you're taking notes, you can write this down. Mary understood the position of God. I want you to notice that Mary has a very high view of God. In verse 46, the Bible says this, And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord. The word magnify is defined as to make something appear large. The archaic definition means to extol or to glorify, to grandize, to make big. I want you to notice that Mary's response in her magnificat, in her prayer of worship towards God, in her expression of affection to God, she says, My soul doth magnify the Lord. She says, if there's something that I want to do with my life, if there's something that I'd like to do with my essence, my soul, she says, it's to make God large, to make God appear large, that God's greatness and glory would be seen through my life. She says, My soul doth magnify the Lord. I want you to notice this is not the only time that this phrase is used in this way. Go with me, if you would, to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 1. You're there in Luke. You're going to go past John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. We just studied not too long ago the book of Philippians on Sunday mornings through a series called Rejoice. So you might remember this from that series, but I want you to see it again. Philippians chapter 1, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. I hope you came to church willing and ready to study the Bible together. Philippians chapter 1. Here we have Mary saying, My soul doth magnify the Lord. She says, I want my soul to grandize God, to glorify God, to cause God to appear and be large and to seem large in the life of others. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 20, notice what Paul said. Paul said, According to my earnest expectation and hope, and my hope, Philippians 1.20, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also. I want you to notice what Paul said. Notice, he says, Christ shall be magnified in my body. Paul said, What I want, my earnest expectation, my hope, and what I know that will not bring shame and cause me to be ashamed in my life. He says, I hope that with boldness, as always, so now also. He says, My desire is that Christ shall be magnified in my body. Paul said, I want Christ to be glorified, Christ to be exalted, Christ to be aggrandized by my body, by my life. Why don't you notice that Mary had a very high view of God. And so did Paul. Paul and Mary had a high view of God and they had a desire for others to have a high view of God as well. If you kept your place in Jeremiah, I'd like you to go back one book to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 6. Isaiah chapter 6. See, Mary understood the position of God. You say, What is the position of God? If we're going to understand the position of God, here's what we must understand. We must have a high view of God. I don't know if you know what I mean by that. I'm going to do my best to try to communicate that to you this morning. But let me just explain this. If there's one thing that I could, if I could teach people one thing, or if I could kind of insert something into your mind and into your heart and into your soul, if there's one thought or one idea that I could place into the church people of Verity Baptist Church, it would be this, that you would develop a high view of God. You say, What do you mean by that? Here's what I mean. I believe that most Christians, and don't take this the wrong way, and I hope the Holy Spirit helps me to communicate this the right way, but I believe most Christians not only do not have a high view of God, they have almost no view of God. And I think a church like this and a church like this, we have a lot of people that might show up here, and some of you show up because of the doctrine. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. But you show up because this church believes and teaches some unique things that other churches don't. We tend to, and forgive my bragging, I hope it doesn't sound that way, but we tend to maybe study the Bible a little deeper and scrutinize the scriptures a little more. And as a result, we have some thorough teaching and pure teaching in the Word of God, and I'm proud of that, and I'm not against that. But I do understand that sometimes people believe they come to a church like this because of what we believe about the King James Bible, because of what we believe about reprobates, because of what we believe about Zionism, because of what we believe about the post-trib rapture, because of what we believe about dispensationalism, and I'm glad for all of that, and I'm glad for a proper position in all of that, but I'm afraid that many people do not come to church because they have a high view of God. They don't really have a view of God. They don't even really think about God. God is not something that is constant in their mind and in their heart. It's not something that they consider or think about as they go about their day, as they speak to those around them, as they act and live their lives. God is not something we often think about. We may think about rules. What are the rules? How am I supposed to dress, and how am I supposed to act, and how am I supposed to live, and what am I supposed to do? But if you would connect your rules to God... See, Mary had a high view of God. The Bible teaches us to have a high view of God. Isaiah 6 and verse 1, I want you to notice, I showed this to you in the past. This idea of a high view of God is a constant theme throughout the Bible. We have the prophet Isaiah, and I want you to notice the view he got of God. And by the way, let me say this. Whenever you get a view of God, you'll get a high view of God. Isaiah 6 and verse 1, the Bible says this, in the year that King Uzziah died, here we have Isaiah, he says, I saw also the Lord, notice what he says, sitting upon a throne. Notice these words, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Isaiah said, I gotta look at God, and when I gotta look at God, he said, I saw him sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. Let me tell you something. He's not the man upstairs. He is God, high and lifted up. Notice in verse 2, he says, above it stood the seraphims, each had six wings. The twain, he covered his face, and with the twain, he covered his feet, and with the twain, he did fly. Notice verse 3, and one cried unto another, and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. The whole of earth is full of all his glory, and the posts of the door move at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Let me tell you something. When Isaiah got a good view of God, here's what he understood of God. He saw God high, holy, and lifted up. He had a high view of God. He had a thought of God. He understood that God was high and holy and lifted up, and that is the God that Mary said, my soul does magnify the Lord. I've got to ask you the question. What does your soul magnify? What does your body magnify? What does your life magnify? Jesus said that they would see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. But yet, often, the way we live our lives is not a glorification of God. This is why we have churches today all over this country that you walk in and it looks like a nightclub. It looks like a rock concert. You say, you guys are a little too stuck up. Yesterday, my wife and I were out soloing, and I was at somebody's door. She's like, you can get out of here with your stuck-up religion. Let me tell you something. It's not a stuck-up religion. It's just a high view of God. Pastor, why don't you get up there and preach with skinny jeans and flip-flops? Well, first of all, because I'm straight, number one, but number two, because I have a high view of God. Number two, because I have a high and holy and lifted-up view of God. If I wouldn't go meet the president in shorts and flip-flops, I'm dead sure I'm not going to stand behind a holy, sacred desk behind the holy Word of God to preach the Word of God in the same fashion. Mary had a high view of God. Paul had a high view of God. And you say, I don't know that the high view of God is that important, but here's what you need to understand. Keep your finger right there in Isaiah chapter 6 and verse 5. We're going to come right back to it, but go back to Luke chapter 1 just real quickly. You say, why does it matter? Here's why it matters. Because the right view of God will produce the right view of self. See, a high view of God will produce a humble view of self. See, Mary said in verse 6, she said, my soul doth magnify the Lord. If you asked her, she would say, I have a high view of God. Then she says this in verse 47, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. We're going to come back to that in a minute. Verse 48, notice what she says about herself. She says, for he hath regarded, notice how she speaks about herself, the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. By the way, she said, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. She didn't say, from henceforth, all generations shall ask me for a blessing. She didn't say, pray to me for a blessing. She said, they'll say, I've been blessed. But I want you to notice that Mary's view, see, she had a high view of God, and she had a humble view of self as a result. She said, he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden. She had a humble view of self. And here's what I'm trying to tell you, is that a high view of God will always produce a humble view of self. The right and proper view of God will always produce the right and proper view of self. Did you keep your place in Isaiah? Go back to Isaiah chapter six. Let me show it to you. Remember verse one, he said, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. In verse three, he said that they cried one to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Isaiah tells us that he got a view of God. And what did he see? He saw him high, holy, and lifted up. But I want you to notice that the proper view of God resulted in a proper view of self, because in verse five, as a result of his high view of God, he got a humble view of self. Notice what he says in verse five. Then said I, woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. You know that you can't get a right view of God without getting a right view of yourself? You know that you can't get a high view of God without getting a humble view of yourself? Many of us this morning need to eat some humble pie. And the problem is, the problem is, the problem that you think so highly of yourself is because you're not thinking highly of God. Because a high view of God will produce a humble view of self. Let me show it to you even further. Go to Ezekiel chapter one. You're there in Isaiah. Go past Jeremiah, Lamentations, into the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter one, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel. In Ezekiel chapter one, we have the same thing. The prophet Ezekiel gets a view of God. You'll never guess what kind of view he got of God, a high view of God. Ezekiel one and verse 28, notice what the Bible says. Here's Ezekiel speaking. He says, As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness run about. He says, This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. Notice Ezekiel has a high view of God and it results in a proper view of self. And when I saw it, notice these words, I fell upon my face. And I heard a voice of one that spake. You see a high view of God but there's a humble view of self. I could spend all day on this. I'm not going to, but let me just give you another passage. Go to Luke. Excuse me. You're there in Luke. Go to John. Right after Luke, you've got the book of John, John chapter three. John chapter three. It's interesting because we're talking about John the Baptist and Jesus in the womb, right? Jesus in the womb of Mary, John in the womb of Elizabeth. She walks into a room. She salutes Elizabeth. John leaps with joy in the womb. And as a result of that, she says, my soul does magnify the Lord. She says that he has considered the low estate of his handmaid. She considers the fact that God has a high view and as a result, she has a humble view and a low view of herself. It's interesting to me because the boy in that womb that leaped for joy, the boy in that womb that heard Mary say, my soul does magnify the Lord. That boy will grow up to be a great preacher one day. That boy will grow up. The Bible says that all Judea went out into the wilderness to hear him preach and that boy would declare the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ one day when Jesus would come down and he would point to Christ and say, behold, the Lamb of God that taken away the sins of the world. And as a result of that declaration, all the crowds that would follow John would now be directed towards Jesus. And the Pharisees would come to John and they would say, what do you think about the fact that you've lost your audience? What do you think about the fact that the crowds that used to follow you now follow him? And he would respond with this famous phrase, John 3 and verse 30. Notice what John says. He must increase, but I must decrease. So what was he saying? Here's what he's saying. I have a high view of God. Therefore, I have a humble view of self. See, in my life and in your life, our attitude should be he must increase. I must decrease. If the battle, if the conflict, if the tension is between should God get his way or I get my way? Should I do what God wants me to do or should I do what I want to do? Should I follow the direction that God has given me or should I follow the direction that my heart has given me? See, the proper response is this. He must increase. I must decrease. Do you have a high view of God? I want you to understand that Mary understood the position of God. Mary had a high view of God. She had a humble view of self. Notice, she illustrates that even more clearly if you go back to Luke chapter 1, verse 47. She says, and my spirit hath rejoiced. Notice, in God my Savior. Every Catholic has missed that one. Notice, Mary didn't say she was the Savior. She said God was her Savior. Now, the only reason that somebody would say that I have a Savior or I need a Savior is because you're a sinner. Therefore, it's not an immaculate conception. It's a miraculous conception. Mary was not immaculate. Mary was not sinless. Mary was not deity. The Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church teaches today that grace has been given to the stewardship of Mary. They teach that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to provide grace for salvation, but that it has been given to Mary, the atrics to bestow that grace. That's why people will pray to Mary and ask for the grace of Jesus, but that's not what Mary said. If you would have asked Mary, she wouldn't have said, hey, ask me for salvation. No, she would have said, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. She understood that she was a sinner in need of salvation. Mary was a godly lady. Mary was a wonderful lady. I'm not speaking disrespectfully of her, but if Mary, well, there's no if. I was going to say, if Mary were here today, no, we're reading the words of Mary. She said, my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. She understood she needed salvation. Look at verse 48, for he hath regarded the low state of his handmaiden, for behold, from henceforth all generations shall be called blessed. Again, she didn't say, from henceforth all generations shall ask me for a blessing. She said, no, they'll call me blessed. Why don't you notice, not only did Mary understand that she was a sinner in need of salvation, but she also understood that God was at work in her life. Look at verse 49. She says, for he, referring to God, that is mighty, hath done to me great things, and holy is his name, and his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. Mary was a very humble lady. She was humble because she had a high view of God. I'm not sure if you kept your place in Isaiah. But if you could make your way back to Isaiah, Isaiah 14, or if you had it in Ezekiel, you can go backwards, past Lamentations, Jeremiah, to Isaiah. You say, why does this thing about having a high view of God matter? Here's why it matters. Because your view of God will produce a proper view of self. A high view of God will produce a humble view of self. You say, why do I need that? Here's why you need that, because every major problem in your life is a result of your pride. Just mark it down. You say, I don't think you should say that. Well, I'm not saying it. The Bible's gonna say it. I'll show it to you here in a minute. Every problem you have, every problem in your marriage, mark it down, pride. All those problems you have at work, pride. All those problems you have with fellow church members, pride. All the problems you have with the pastor, pride. All the problems you have with your pastor's wife, pride. It's all pride. In fact, if we go back to the beginning, when Satan fell, when he sinned, when Lucifer sinned, and he tempted Eve, what was all that a result of? One word, pride. Remember Isaiah 14? Look at Isaiah 14. Look at verse three. Remember Lucifer, when he fell, why did he fall? Notice what he said. Isaiah 14, verse 13. For thou hast said in thine heart, this is what Lucifer said, and this was as a result of his fall and the fact that he brought sin. For thou hast said in thine heart, you notice what he says. He says, I will ascend into heaven. He says, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. He said, I will sit also upon the mound of the congregation and the sides of the north. Notice verse 14. He says, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. He says, I will be like the most high. The most high. Five times in those four verses, he said, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will. Looks like some of your guys' Facebook feeds. It's pride. Go to Proverbs chapter 13. Proverbs chapter 13. If you go backwards, you open up your Bible just right in the center, you have Psalms, and after Psalms, you have Proverbs. Everything gets easier with humility. Everything. You'll have a happier marriage. You'll have a better time raising children. You'll get along better with church people. You'll get along better with your pastor. You'll get along better with your co-workers. You'll get along better with your boss. Everything gets easier when you're not full of yourself. But you're full of yourself because you don't have the right view of God. Proverbs 13 verse 14. Proverbs 13 verse 10. Don't miss it. Only by pride cometh contention. I'm fighting. I'm fighting with my spouse. Only by pride cometh contention. I'm fighting with my boss. Only by pride cometh contention. I'm fighting with my fellow churchmen. Only by pride cometh contention. I'm just an angry person. You're a proud person. I'm just, I'm always angry because you're filled with pride. What you need, what we all need is a high view of God. Because when we see God high, holy, and lifted up, it gives us a low and humble view of self. And then we can turn the other cheek and then we can esteem others better than ourselves. And then in love, we can prefer one another. Because we realize that the only one that should be getting glory, that the only one that should be aggrandized, that the only one that should be getting credit is God. So Mary understood the position of God. I want you to notice secondly this morning if you make your way back to Luke chapter one. Not only does she understand the position of God, but I want you to notice secondly that Mary understood the power of God. Look at verse 51. Notice what she says about God. She says, He, God, hath showed strength with His arm. He hath scattered, notice the theme, notice the theme. He hath scattered the proud in the imaginations of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats and exalted, notice the theme that Mary has here. She says, He scattered the proud, the mighty, and have, notice, and exalted them of low degree. See, Mary not only understood the position of God, that He was high, holy, and lifted up, and therefore she had a humble view of herself, but Mary also understood the power of God, that God has the power to scatter the proud, that He has the power to put down the mighty, that He has the power to exalt them that are of low degree. This again is a theme that's found throughout the Bible. Let me just show it to you. We could spend all day on this one thought. I'm not going to do that, but let me just give you one thought. Go to 1 Peter chapter 5. If you start at the end of the Bible, the book of Revelation, go backwards. You have Jude, 3 John, 2 Peter, 1 Peter 5. Revelation, Jude, 3 John, 2 Peter, 1 Peter 5. Do me a favor. When you get to 1 Peter, put a ribbon or a bookmark or something there because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it. See, here's what Mary understood about the power of God. First, she understood the position of God. Mary had a high view of God and she had a humble view of self, but then she understood something about the power of God and what Mary understood about the power of God is that God resisted the proud and exalts the humble. You want God to be against you? Allow pride in your life. 1 Peter 5, look at verse 5. Likewise, He said, 1 Peter 5, look at verse 5. Likewise, He younger. Submit yourselves unto the other. By the way, you know why you won't submit? Pride. Yea, all of you be subject one to another. I don't have to submit. I don't have to submit to anybody. Yeah, that's because you're prideful. And be... You get mad at me all you want. I'm just reading the Bible to you. And be clothed with humility. I'm not making this up. This all goes together, hand in hand. I'm giving grace to the proud. And giveth grace to the humble. So then He says this in verse 6. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God. You know why you don't humble yourself? Because you don't have a high view of God. Because you don't understand that the hand of God is mighty. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Mary understood that God resists the proud, but it is that same God that resists the proud that puts down the mighty. It is that same God that exalts the humble. Let me give you another thought. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 if you would, if you kept your place. Keep your place right there in 1 Peter. And of course if you're in Luke, after Luke you have John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. By the way, this is why Paul said, I glory in the cross. We are not glory in ourselves. We are not glory in what God is doing in us, but the fact that God is using us. The Lord, and I'll say this, to the glory of God, to the glory of God, I don't know how much you know this or understand this or if you care about this and it doesn't matter if you do. To a small extent and to whatever extent you do, to a small extent and to whatever extent it is, God has put his blessing upon this ministry. God has helped us. A few weeks ago I was preaching in Vancouver. When I got done preaching, somebody walked up to me and said, I need to tell you a story. And they actually told the story of somebody else that somebody came to me to tell me. They said, you saw that family. There was a large Russian family that was there for the service. I said, yeah, I saw that family. They came in. They were there for the service. They said, yeah, it's really interesting. So one of our church members up there in Vancouver was working and they were doing a service call in a house, just a random house. And when they got there, they're doing their work and they were listening to a live stream from our church or a sermon from our church, a Baptist church. And the guy that's working there, he says, are you listening to Pastor Jimenez? And they're like, yeah, yeah, we like Pastor Jimenez. They're like, yeah, you listen to him? They're like, yeah, yeah, no. And he said, you know he's gonna be at our church next week. Like, oh really? So they came as a result. And everywhere I go, by the grace of God, people are telling us, what your church is doing there in Sacramento you may not understand, God is using it and God is using this ministry and God is using you, dear people. God's blessing is upon this ministry. But I want you to understand something that Mary understood and it's something you and I need to understand. I believe that one reason that God has used our ministry to the extent he has, and I believe, look, we just got started. We've not even begun to fight. But I believe that God has used our ministry to the extent it has, and the key to God continuing to use our ministry is this, that God not only resists the proud and exalts the humble, but God also takes pleasure in showing himself strong in weakness. See, in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 26, the Bible says this, God has used our ministry to the extent it has and the key to God continuing to use our ministry to the extent it has. The Bible says this, Paul said this, for you see your calling, brethren. You want a call of God on your life? You want the blessing of God on your life? For you see your calling, brethren, how that, notice the words, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. Now, I don't believe when Paul is saying here that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. I don't believe that he's referring to the fact that God only uses foolish people and God only uses, you know, people that have a low degree in society, although God may do that. But I believe what Paul is saying is that God can't use you when you think you're wise. God can't use you when you consider yourself mighty. God can't use you when you say I'm too noble for that job. I'm too noble to knock those doors. I'm too noble to do that ministry. For you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the things that are mighty and base things of this world and the things which are despised have God chosen, yea, and the things which are not to bring to naught things that are. Why would God do that? That no flesh should glory in his presence. I believe that God glories in using that which is weak. So he uses a church that's meeting next to a methadone clinic because God glories in using the weak. He uses a man like me with no physical reason to impress anybody. With no reason for anybody to say, there goes somebody who's smart. There goes somebody who's talented. Look how tall and strong he is. No soul here, but God takes pleasure in using the weak. That's why Paul would say in 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 9, when he heard these words and he said unto me, my grace is efficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul responds most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in mine infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and necessities and persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong. Ecclesiastes 9 and verse 11, you have to turn there. The Bible says, I returned and saw under the sun the light of my eyes, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill, but time and chance happeneth to them all. Do you know that God is no respecter of persons? You find the smartest, most talented, strongest individual and God wants to use you as much as he wants to use them. So Mary understood not only the position of God, but she understood the power of God. She understood that the position of God is this, that he is high and he is holy and he is lifted up and as a result, we have a humble view of self. But she also understood that God had the power to use that which was weak and God had the power to use that which was lowly and God had the power to pick out a little lady that none of us would have ever known from a little city that had never been written down in any history, that had no importance, that had nothing going for it, that throughout the gospels would be known as Jesus of Nazareth, a little unimportant, a little place where no one would think. In fact, later on in the gospels, we'll see it in Luke, when Jesus begins his public ministry, one thing that is said about Jesus and his location of his birth and where he came from is and where he was raised is this, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And let me tell you something, when you and I stop putting our focus on ourselves and we realize that nothing is too hard for the Lord, go back to Luke chapter one, can I share something with you? I hope you understand my heart and I hope you understand. I'm not saying this as a negative thing to any of you or anybody listening online who's maybe said something like this to me. I just want to share something with you. The Lord has allowed our church to be blessed of God and the Lord has allowed me and my wife and my family to travel and to be able to preach in different places and one thing that happens as I preach in these different locations is everywhere I go, people always want to tell me about California and here's usually how the conversation goes and I understand that they're saying this as a compliment tonight but here's how the comment goes. I would have moved to Verity but it's in California. I wanted to move to Verity but it's in California and I'd laugh and whatever but can I just be honest with you? Through years and years and years of having people telling me why they can't come to California and having people tell me who live in California why they're leaving California and they want to go, you know, I don't know where they want to go and I'm not defending California. It is terrible. It is bad but by the way, so is Texas. People are sinners everywhere but after years and years and years of having people say this to me, to be honest with you, in my heart, in my soul, I started to believe it. I started to doubt within myself can we even do what we're trying to do? Where were I? Maybe we should just all pack up and move to Alaska. I don't know. Maybe we should try to find some acre somewhere and drink Kool-Aid together. And just in my heart, can I just be honest with you? In my heart I began to think will it work in California? Will preaching the Bible work in California? Will taking a strong stand against the sodomites work in California? But I had to resolve myself to this conclusion that it's not about me and it's not about you and it's not about where we are. God takes pleasure. God takes pleasure in showing himself mighty in that which is weak. God takes pleasure in spreading and having light in that which is darkness. And I'm not against any of these other places. I'm just telling you, God is just as much God here as he is in Idaho. And God can do a work here just like he can do anywhere else. So Mary understood the position of God. Mary understood the power of God. I can notice thirdly this morning that Mary understood the providence of God. Look at Luke chapter one again, verse 53. The word providence means the protective care of God. God provides the protection of God. God provides the protection of God, God providing for our needs. Luke chapter one and verse 53, the Bible says this, he hath filled, that's what Mary said, he hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath hoping his servants Israel in remembrance of his mercy. Mary understood the providence of God. She understood that it is God who provides God is the great provider. Could you go with me just real quickly to Deuteronomy chapter eight? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter eight. Mary understood the position of God. She understood the power of God but she also understood the providence of God. Let me just say this. During the Christmas season that we find ourselves in, we should, like Mary, remember that God is the great provider. Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse 17. I've shared these verses with you in the past but I think it's good for us to remember them. God says here, and thou say in thine heart and what he's saying is, I want you to remember who I am so you don't say these things in your heart. My power and the might of mine hand are in your heart. My power and the might of mine hand have gotten me this well. I hope you live in a nice house. I hope you drive a nice car. I hope you have nice clothes. I pray that you would be blessed and prosperous in whatever way that God would allow in God's will. But don't ever get this attitude when you get the blessings of God that your power and your might have gotten you this well. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth that he may establish this covenant which you swear unto thy fathers as it is this day. If you would go with me to the book of James, James chapter one, if you kept your place in first Peter. I'm not sure if you did. I meant to tell you if I didn't. First Peter, right before first Peter is the book of James, James chapter one. I'm just saying, during this Christmas season, let's remember the providence of God during this Christmas season. Let's remember, we should remember like Mary that God is our provider. And by the way, we should remember like Mary that every good gift comes from God. James one and verse seventeen, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father of light with whom is no variance neither shadow of turning. Listen mom and listen dad, this Christmas season don't teach your children that Santa Claus brought them a gift. This perfect gift is from above. Tell your kids some fat guy in a red suit brought them a Christmas gift. Tell them this Christmas season and tell them every day. Children, you know why we pray before our meal? Because God provided this for us. We celebrate the birth of Christ and we give gifts to remember the fact that it is God, that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. And the greatest gift, the Lord Jesus Christ came from above and cometh down from the father of light. Mary understood the position of God and the power of God and the providence of God. Go back to Luke chapter one, we'll finish up. Luke chapter one. Verse fifty-five, and he spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever. We're going to talk about that tonight. Verse fifty-six, and Mary abode with her about three months and returned to her own house. Mary went to Elizabeth's house when she was six months and she stayed for three months. That tells us that Mary stayed until the birth of John or right before the birth of John. Just as we close, let me just highlight something for you. I'm going to read some verses to you. You don't have to turn to any of them. I just want to highlight this for you. If you're taking notes, as we go through this passage of scripture, the Magnificat of Mary, Mary speaking in prayer, an exaltation to God, you may have noticed or you may have not noticed that she has many scripture references and many things she says that are taken from other passages of scripture. What this teaches us is that Mary was a young lady who was full of the scriptures. Mary must have not only read the Bible, she must have paid a lot of attention in the synagogue when the word of God was read, but she also must have quoted, she must have memorized a lot of scripture because she's full of scripture. Again, you don't have to turn to these. Let me just highlight it for you. In Luke 1, 46, she says, We believe that comes from Psalm 34, verse 2 where the Bible says, My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. In Luke 1, 47, she said, God, my Savior, is probably from Isaiah 45 and verse 21 where the Bible says that he is a just God and a Savior. Luke 1, 48, Mary refers to herself as his handmaiden. She's been given a miraculous birth and that's probably taken from Hannah's prayer who was also given a miraculous birth with Samuel when she said in 1 Samuel 1, 11, she referred to herself as thine handmaid. In Luke 1, 48, she said, Mary said about herself that she shall be, will call me blessed. It's probably taken from Genesis 30 and verse 13 when Leah was with child and she said, will call me blessed. In Luke 1, 49, she said, Mary said about God that he hath done to me great things. That's probably taken from Psalm 1, 26 and verse 3 where it says, hath done great things for us. And in Luke 1, 49, she said, holy is his name. And that's probably taken from 1, 11 and verse 9 when the Bible says holy and reverend is his name. I point that out to you to say this. In fact, if you would, just go to Luke chapter 6. You're there in Luke 1. Just flip a couple of pages over to Luke chapter 6. I point that out to say this. Mary's a young lady who's under a lot of stress. She's under a lot of pressure. She's a young lady who's been contractually married and has not yet consummated the marriage. She's now told that she's with child from God. She's, I'm sure has a lot of questions. I'm sure she doesn't know how's Joseph going to take this. What are my parents going to think? What was my family, my neighbors? The people I grew up with. Nazareth is not that big of a city, a town. This is a young lady that I would imagine would be going through a time that is very stressful, a lot of pressure. I like to think of this, I could use a little bit of a silly illustration. If you think of like a toothpaste tube, you have a tube of toothpaste that's filled with something and when you squeeze it and when you press it and when you add pressure to it, what's inside comes out. What we see with Mary is that at a time in her life when she was pressed, when she was stressed, when she had a lot of burden, a lot of issues, she was pressed, what was in her came out. By the way, it's not just about Mary and it's not just about toothpaste. It's about you too. When you're stressed, when you're pressured, when you're under a lot of stress, what's inside of you comes out. So here's a question for you. What's inside of you? Because when Mary was stressed, you know what came out of her? The word of God. See, you say, I'm under a lot of stress. See, here's the problem. When you have a lot of pressure and you have a lot of stress and you start cussing, it's not the pressure, it's not the stress. The pressure and the stress just brought out what was already there. It was already inside of you. It was good and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringing forth that which is evil for of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. You know what this tells me about Mary? That she had the word of God in her heart. So when you're under pressure and you're under stress, what comes out? When you get bumped and what's inside of you spills out, what does that look like during a time of stress? What comes out of you during times of pressure? Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. This is why the Bible says that the word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom. And times of stress, we show our true colors. It's easy to be nice when everything's fine, but when you're a jerk, when you're under stress, just note this, and I'm not trying to offend you, I'm trying to help you. When you're a jerk under stress, that's what you really are. When you're mean under stress, that's because that's what you really are. What comes out of you is ugly during stress is because what's inside of you. So what do I do? Change it. How about you stop letting the world in your heart and you let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart. Here's all I'm telling you. We saw a young lady under a lot of stress and she opens her mouth and what comes out is my soul does magnify the Lord. We see Job in the book of Job under a lot of stress. His health is bad. His wife has forsaken him. His children are dead. His business is gone. He opens his mouth and he says, the Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. You know why that came out during a time of stress? Because that's what was inside. So what comes out of you during times of pressure, during times of stress? Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom. That's what Mary would do as far as I know. Heavenly Father, Lord, I pray you'd help us. I understand, Lord, to a very small extent I understand. I know my wife understands what it's like to be under pressure. I know what it feels like to have a full plate just to have people put more on your plate. I know what it feels like to be lied about. I know what it feels like to have people make assumptions about you. Never ask you to clarify. I know what it feels like to be hurt, criticized. And I know these dear people know what that feels like too. Lord, help us to learn from Mary. When this young lady was under stress, the word of Christ came out. Blessings and glory to God, exaltation to God came out. Help us to be filled with your word, Lord. I pray you'd help us not to just come to church just another day, another Sunday, another service, but I pray that we would make a decision today to get a high view of God and to get a proper view of self and a match to the world in the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.