Introduction

​

Well hello … and welcome along to church this evening … as we celebrate another hot Christmas in Sydney.  My name is Brendan McLaughlin and I’m the senior minister here at Earlwood Anglican.  And I want to begin tonight by looking at what it means to BE from Sydney.  So here are the Top 7 reasons you KNOW you’re from Sydney:

1. You know you’re living in Sydney if you make over $150,000 a year … but can't afford a house.

2. You’re from Sydney if you spent more money on your coffee machine than on your washing machine.

3. You’re from Sydney if you know the deadliest animal in Australia … is the wombat.  If run over by a Semi-trailers … wombats get quite annoyed.  Yet to the normal car they are an asymmetrical launching pad.

4. You know you’re from Sydney if you couldn’t drive to Centrepoint Tower to save your life.

5. You know you’re from Sydney if you honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant the light changes.

6. You’re from Sydney if you have very strong opinions on where your coffee beans are grown … and can taste the difference between Sumatran and Ethiopian.

7. AND you’re from Sydney if you can roll sushi, make pasta from scratch and you keep your red curry paste recipe under lock and key … but couldn't roast a chicken if your life depended on it.

Now I share this with you NOT just for some light humour … but because TONIGHT we’re looking at the things that mark a person out as a Christian.  And the passage that was just read for us is about the very first person who ever heard the Christmas message.  So in the passage RIGHT BEFORE our passage tonight … which we’re looking at tomorrow morning by the way … the angel Gabriel visits Mary and tells her:

Luke 1:31 (NIV) You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.

Now strangely … the significance of this doesn’t fully sink in for Mary UNTIL she visits her cousin Elizabeth … tonight’s passage … who was pregnant at the time with John the Baptist.  Now Elizabeth’s husband Zechariah had ALSO been visited by the angel Gabriel … last Sunday’s passage … who told him THEIR son will be filled with the Holy Spirit from before he’s even born.  And we see that in our passage tonight.  As soon as the pregnant Mary enters their house … Elizabeth’s baby gives her a good kick … probably right in the bladder … if my wife’s pregnancies are anything to go on.  And Elizabeth … then filled with the Holy Spirit … says ‘my baby KNOWS your baby … Mary … is the Messiah’.

And it’s at THAT point that Mary breaks into the very first Christmas Carol … the very first song about Jesus’ birth.  And this carol … known as The Magnificat … outlines for us Mary’s response to the Christmas message.  And THIS response … shows US what it looks like to respond to the message of Jesus.  And THAT’S what I want to look at with you for the next 15 minutes or so; how to respond to the Christmas message.  And I’ve got 3 quick points … looking at 3 aspects of Mary’s response.  We’re going to begin by seeing that (i) Mary is deeply moved … by the message of Jesus.  That’s point 1.  We’ll THEN look at why it is that Mary is deeply moved … which is because (ii) Mary is deeply blessed … point 2.  We’ll then conclude with our application … which is seeing (iii) How WE can be deeply moved and blessed … just like Mary.  So please come with me as we look at how (i) Mary is deeply moved, (ii) Mary is deeply blessed, and (iii) How WE can be deeply moved and blessed as well.

​

​

Mary is deeply moved (v. 46-47)

 

And the very first Christmas carol begins with these words:

Luke 1:46-47 (NIV) … “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Now another word for ‘glorify’ is to magnify … or lift up.  So Mary is magnifying God’s name here … hence the NAME of this song … the Magnificat.  And Mary is doing this with her soul … v. 46 … AND her spirit … v. 47.  But we should not think these are 2 different things.  Mary is not saying ‘my soul … down here … is glorifying, and my spirit … over here … is rejoicing’.  They’re one and the same thing.  They’re BOTH referring to our inner being.  The body is our outer being.  The mind is our intellectual being.  And the soul … or the spirit is our inner being … that lives on into eternity.

Now WHY does Mary use 2 different words to say the same thing twice?  It’s to emphasise what’s happening.  And what’s happening is … Mary is overwhelmed with emotion.  She is rocked to her very core.  It’s like the day JFK was assassinated … or 9/11 … or October 7th now.  Most people remember where they were when they heard that news … because it was emotionally overwhelming.  Well THIS news is ALSO emotionally overwhelming to Mary … just in a good way.  It has gripped Mary’s imagination … like nothing else has before.  And this is the FIRST thing we need to understand about responding to the Christian message.  If the Christian message isn’t captivating us … overwhelming us emotionally … then we probably haven’t understood it yet.

OK … notice Mary DOESN’T say ‘hmmm … I’d like to think more about this’.  In the movie Zoolander … the dim-witted male model Derek Zoolander is talking to Winona Rider … and he says ‘I have to go to the bathroom … but I’d really like to continue talking about this conversation when I get back’.  OK … Mary doesn’t say ‘hmmm … that’s very interesting.  I’d like to continue thinking about this next week.’  Instead … she acts MORE like her favourite team has just won the grand final … in a nail-biting finish.  She is overwhelmed by this message:

Luke 1:46-47 (NIV) … “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

So the FIRST thing we need to DO … to respond to the Christian message this Christmas … is to be GRIPPED by it … like you’ve never been gripped by anything before.  OK … the Christian message is just the most important thing in existence … it’s also the 2nd most important thing in existence … and the 3rd most important thing … and the 4th and 5th …  even the 100th most important thing in existence.  Are you as deeply moved by the Christian message as Mary was?

​

​

Mary is deeply blessed (48-49)

 

Now if not … it MAY be because you haven’t understood the Christian message like Mary did.  And that is that the Christian message is NOT something we do … it’s something that is done FOR us.  The Christian message is about being deeply blessed.  So Mary says:

Luke 1:48-49 (NIV) … for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

Now the great thing God has done for Mary is He’s chosen her to be the mother of God the Son.  And that is an incredible honour.  No other person in history has received such an honour.  She is entirely unique in this honour.  But it’s worth pointing out at this point that Mary is NOT morally unique.  The Roman Catholic church tries to honour Mary by claiming things like she was sinless … she was a perpetual virgin … and her body was taken up into heaven … known as ‘the Assumption of Mary’.  Now not only is there zero warrant for any of this in the NT … Mary herself says it’s not true.  If Mary was born without Original Sin … as Roman Catholic dogma declares … then she has no need of a saviour.  But that’s what she calls God in v. 47.  ‘My spirit rejoices in God my saviour’.  Furthermore … in Luke 11:27 a woman cries out to Jesus:

Luke 11:27-28 (NIV) … “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 28 [Jesus] replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Jesus REFUSES to bestow upon his mother any special privilege OTHER than being chosen for a unique role.  So be careful honouring Mary beyond what Jesus does.  Yet it’s THIS deeply blessed role … that has led to Mary being deeply moved.  And this is the SECOND thing we need to understand when responding to the Christian message.  It’s not about what we DO.  It’s about what’s been done FOR us.

You see if the Christian message is about what we DO … then there’s no surprise.  If the Christian message is about going to church … then there’s no awe.  We just go to church.  If the Christian message is about doing good works … then there’s no wonder.  It’s just about my good works.  And this is why no other religion on the planet can give us the awe and wonder that Christianity can give.  OK … every other religious leader who ever walked this earth said ‘I have come to show you how to get near to God’.  Jesus said ‘I AM God.  And I’ve come to get near to you’.

You see the CHRISTMAS message is only half of the Christian message.  The other half comes in Easter.  And the Easter message is that baby Jesus grew up to be a man … a sinless man … who died to take the punishment for YOUR sins.  The Christian message is NOT about you finding God.  That kind of message can NEVER move you … NEVER overwhelm you.  The thing that is overwhelming about the Christian message is that even though you didn’t deserve it … God left heaven to come and find you.

​

​

How we can be deeply moved and blessed (50-55)

 

The THIRD and FINAL thing Mary tells us in this very first Christmas carol … is HOW you and I can be deeply blessed … so that we can be deeply moved by the Christian message this Christmas?  We see this in:

Luke 1:51-53 (NIV) He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

Notice what Mary is saying here?  She’s saying ‘DON’T make the mistake of thinking that because God is great … he is therefore partial to great men or women’.  OK … that’s how PEOPLE work.  We saw this at the US election this year.  Kamala surrounded herself with people like Oprah and Beyounce … while Trump had Elon and Hulk Hogan.  Great men and women like to surround themselves with OTHER great men and women.  But not God.  It’s actually the exact opposite when it comes to God:

• God scatters the proud … v. 51

• He brings down the powerful … v. 52

• And He sends the rich away empty … v. 53

Now WHY do you think this is?  Why is God not partial to the rich, the powerful and the successful?  It’s because those 3 things are substitutes FOR God … rather than pointers to God.  So WHY would God be partial to the kind of things that people worship instead of Him.  Money … power … success.  Instead God abases … brings low … humiliates the proud, the powerful and the rich.  OK … Mary repeated herself TWICE when magnifying God.  She says this THREE times … v. 51, 52 and 53.  And she says it as a warning.  Do NOT … do NOT … do NOT come to God with your achievements.  He is not impressed by them.

In 2 Kings chapter 5 … we’re told about Naaman … who was the commander of the army of Aram.  He was General of one of the greatest armies of his day.  He was great man.  Yet he had leprosy.  He then HEARS about the prophet Elisha … who had the power to heal people of such conditions.  So he asks the king of Aram to send him to Israel to be healed by this prophet.  And the king says ‘by all means … go’.  And Naaman arrives at Elisha’s house with (i) enormous quantities of gold and fine clothes, (ii) a huge squadron of soldiers and cavalry, AND (iii) letters of recommendation from the king.  Money … power … and success.

The prophet Elisha is SO unimpressed by Naaman’s money, power and success that he doesn’t even deem him worthy to go out and see.  He simply sends his servant to go tell Naaman to go and wash 7 times in the Jordan.  Naaman does … and he’s healed.  Naaman’s cleansing had NOTHING to do with his money, his power or his success.  Instead … it was a free gift.

Now friends … there will be SOME here tonight … who THINK you’re OK with God … because of your achievements … your good works.  There will be OTHERS … who are reluctant to COME to God … because you’re wanting to get your life in order first.  The message of v. 51-53 is that God is NOT partial to such people.  Instead it’s the exact opposite.  Oh how MANY people have perished … because they were enamoured by pride, power and prizes.  God is NOT impressed by such achievements.

​

​

Conclusion

 

Now friends … if you want to leave here tonight like Derek Zoolander … saying ‘I would really like to continue talking about this conversation … next Christmas’ … if you want to leave here tonight with something to mull over intellectually … then by all means … continue to think the Christian message is about what you DO.  By all means … continue coming before God with your wealth … your power and your letters of recommendation.

But if you want to leave here tonight emotionally overwhelmed … rejoicing like Mary … then please understand the Christian message says God’s mercy falls on those who turn FROM their ego, their influence and their assets.  OK … leave your riches, your army and your letters of recommendation at home.  They are a hindrance … not a help.  The way to be deeply moved this Christmas … is NOT by claiming you’re deeply impressive.  It’s by acknowledging that despite your lowly state … despite your Sin … you are deeply blessed … for the Almighty God condescended to become a human … and die for your sin.  Friends only when we realise the Christian message is not something we do … it is something Jesus has done for us … that allows us to sing with Mary:

Luke 1:46-47 (NIV) … “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,