Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. I wonderful if all of us here could say as Mary did. My spirit rejoices in God. my Saviour. Today will you humble yourself under God's mighty hand.
That's following the example of Mary.
So that our souls and our spirits Always praise and worship our mighty. and merciful God. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Today, we're looking at a beautiful passage from the book of Luke, Mary's song of praise, known as the Magnificat. After receiving the angel's announcement, Mary travels to visit Elizabeth, and what unfolds teaches us profound lessons about faith, humility, and what it truly means to magnify the Lord.
So continuing in Luke chapter 1. Here's Pastor John Monroe. How's your singing? Do you love to sing particularly praises to our God and Saviour Jesus Christ? I confess I'm a very mediocre singer.
At the beginning of Luke's Gospel, he said that he is writing an orderly account.
so that Theophilus may have certainty concerning the things he has been taught. In this way, Luke gives details which none of the other Gospel writers mention. Mary sings this wonderful song during a visit to Elizabeth. I know. you will find this fascinating.
as we meet these two godly women. Mary is young. And Luke has already told us that Elizabeth is advanced in years.
So let's get into the message. We are going through the book of Luke and continuing. today in chapter one And uh our passage is from verse thirty-nine through fifty six.
So if you have your Bible You can operate their look mentions. Several songs in his gospel. I don't know if he was a musician or not. The first of them, is one that we're looking at today. It is Mary's song.
Mary, you will recall, is in her teens. And ash is in Nazareth, her hometown. This angel appears, Gabriel. Who tells Mary, this young woman, that he is sent from God with a message. that she's going to conceive and bear a son who will be called Jesus and that, although she is a virgin, What a revelation to a young woman in her teens.
that she is going to bear one who is holy the very Son of God.
So Mary. is one of the women in her story today. The other woman is Elizabeth. She, unlike Mary, is, the Bible says, advanced in years, and she is barren. She's unable to have children.
She's married. And Gabriel appears to her husband, Zachariah, who is a priest, and Gabriel comes to Zechariah with a message as well. and tell Zechariah that God has heard their prayers. and that his wife Elizabeth is going to bear a son. whose name is going to be called John.
And this man, John. He's going to be filled with the Spirit from his mother's womb. And he's going to have a unique ministry. Because he is going to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
So as we come into her story, Today we have two women. One is young. in her teens, probably early to mid-teens. and the other is old. The old woman is married to a priest.
She lives in the region of Jerusalem near the temple, Jerusalem being the capital of Israel. The other woman, the younger one, coming from a rural setting, from the inconsequential town of Nazareth, up there in the north in Galilee. Mary clearly is not as experienced in life as Elizabeth. Elizabeth has been married to a priest, will know the scriptures very, very well. And Mary probably is not as sophisticated coming from a rural setting as opposed to Elizabeth, who is brought up near the capital, Jerusalem.
So, in one way, they're very different, but in another way, a fundamental way, they're very similar, because both know God. Both have lives which are centered on God. And both remarkably are very, very humble. and both have a strong trust. in the Lord.
I think it's wonderful, isn't it, that irrespective of our age, Our faith in God can be strong. And so we're going to learn. From these women, Elizabeth and Mary, about worship, about joy. about faith and about thankfulness. Men, I hope.
We can learn from Our wives Our sisters. Our mothers. Our grandmothers.
So let's read first of all The first section in chapter one, and we'll read from verse 39 through 45. We read at the end of verse thirty. ate that the angel departed from her. That departs from Mary, who is in Nazareth. Verse 39: In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a town in Judah.
And she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she exclaimed with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women. And blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And why is this granted to me? that the mother of my Lord should come to me For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she. Who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from. The Lord.
We'll just pause there. First of all, we want to learn about this visit by Mary. Mary has said, as we saw last week, In verse thirty-eight, To Gabriel. And she receives this stunning message that although she's a virgin, she's going to conceive and bear a son who's going to be called Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit is going to come upon her, and the power of the Almighty is going to overshadow her, so that that which is born of her will be holy, the Son of God. What a stark.
Earth-shattering revelation to a young woman in Nazareth. Entertains. Notice what she says, verse thirty-eight. And Mary said, Behold, I'm the servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.
So, after being told by the angel that her relative Elizabeth had conceived a son in her old age and was six months pregnant, as Gabriel told. Uh may Ray? Mary goes, we read verse 38, she arose and went into the hill country. She goes to a town in Judah. And it says in verse 39 that she went with haste.
to visit Elizabeth. That's interesting, isn't it? Mary's faith, she's already said to Gabriel that she's a servant of the Lord. Her faith is not passive, but it's active. She's a servant of the Lord.
She's ready to serve the Lord. Verse 38: according to your word. She's a powerful example, isn't she? of active faith. resulting in humble and instant obedience.
She receives the message. She accepts the message. She expresses that she's a servant of the Lord, she's heard the word of God, and she is told that her relative Elizabeth. Is already six months pregnant with a child, and with haste, she leaves her town, she leaves her surroundings, she possibly probably had lived in Nazareth all of her life, so she leaves what she knows and she goes out in faith and makes this long journey. Think of her as a 13 or 14-year-old girl.
making that journey to the environment of Jerusalem. This is authentic. Faith. Authentic faith, as opposed to theoretical faith, true faith, saving faith results in action, results in obedience. I think this is one of our problems, isn't it?
We say we believe. We say we're trusting God, but it often leads to a passivity. We remain stale and lethargic spiritually, not so merry. Paul describes the faith of the Romans in Romans chapter 1 as the obedience of faith. Faith in God is a faith which is obedient, is a faith which acts, is a faith which does not stay where it was.
but is dynamic and Active as daily we trust in our Lord Jesus Christ. I think so often we know what we should do. But we fail. to do it. We talk about serving the Lord.
But we never get around to doing it. We know we should obey God and get baptized, but we never quite get around to it. We know we should end that bad relationship with someone, and one day we will, but not now. Isn't that a tremendously dishonoring way to live? The scripture doesn't deal with tomorrow.
Scripture always deals with today. Mary hears the word of God and with haste She goes from Nazareth. to Jerusalem. Today. Hebrews says, today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart.
The Bible says today is the day of salvation. Today is the day you get right with God. The devil always says, Tomorrow, tomorrow. Do it tomorrow. Sign up tomorrow.
Obey God tomorrow. End that bad relationship tomorrow. Repent of your sin tomorrow. Put it off. God says today Today.
If you hear God speaking to you, Follow the example of Mary. Obey with haste. This is a humble and instant obedience. You know. If you have children.
You want your children to obey. Instantly. Instant obedience. The military requires instant obedience. You receive the command and you don't say, well, I may get around to that.
Let me think about that. No, the command is given. And you are to obey instantly. That's humility. After all, this is God who intervenes in our life.
This is God who's saying to us, this is the way you should live. Repent of your sin today. The Spirit convicts us. We hear the word of God. And like Mary, we are to obey with humility and instantly.
The Bible says, call on the name of the Lord, and you'll be saved. You say, well, I'll maybe get saved tomorrow. Tomorrow, your heart may be very hardened. There may be no tomorrow in your life. Today, Whatever it is.
You know what you should do. Do it. And do it today. Mary's a great example of that, isn't it? Instant obedience.
to have a faith That is not just theory. but a faith which leads to humility and action. And so she turns up. At this home, In the suburbs perhaps of Jerusalem. We assume Zechariah is in the the house, but he can't speak.
Elizabeth is in the sixth month of her pregnancy with the unborn. John And these two women, this Older woman and this younger woman. must have been overwhelmed by what God has done in their lives. Think of it. A virgin.
conceives. An old woman, advanced in years, who is barren also. conceives. One Elizabeth is carrying the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. John.
The other. It's carrying. The Saviour of the world. The Messiah. The Christ.
The Holy One. of God. And the prophecies, the Old Testament prophecies, Regarding Jesus and John are now being fulfilled. Isaiah 7, verse 14: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name. Emmanuel.
Mary knew that scripture. And she is the chosen That's all. to bear. Emmanuel, God with us. Malachi 3 verse 1, Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.
Last of the Old Testament prophets, Malachi, had said that 400 years previously, and now Elizabeth. This godly woman is the chosen vessel. To bear. The messenger. The preparer.
the forerunner of the Messiah.
So Mary's faith results in action. Elizabeth's faith results in joy and blessing. You know this. Elizabeth recognizes, verse 42, that Mary is blessed among women. And blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Verse 45: Blessed is she, Mary, who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Again. The faith of Mary is being emphasized. Mary believes what Gabriel tells her, and there is a blessing, of course, with believing. Then Luke records.
The physician records this amazing thing. When Mary enters the house, and gives a greeting.
something supernatural happens. Not many of you Have born children. I'm expecting mothers to get very excited when the baby moves. In their womb? I've never heard.
One pregnant woman saying that the baby in her womb leapt for joy.
Some of you have been kicked. That is true. But it says that the unborn John When he hears the greeting and Mary enters the house, this unborn. Baby leaps for joy. Verse 41.
When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Verse 44, For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. John is filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. Mary enters the house. And this unborn boy.
Who is privileged to be the preparer for the coming Messiah? He leaps for joy. God undoubtedly is at work in the lives of these two women. And the first meeting, Of John and Jesus takes place. And they're both in a womb.
The forerunner of the Messiah, John. As an unborn baby is full of joy in the presence of the unborn Messiah. It's not incredible. I think Luke's trying to tell us something. Luke's going to be explaining that joy is one of his themes.
We saw that in verse 14. The word comes from Gabriel. To Zechariah, and you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. Here in verse forty-four, John, the baby, leaps in his womb for joy. This joy is foundational to the Christian life.
Even in the midst of disappointments and hardships and suffering and bereavements. God A God of joy gives to his people this unmistakable joy. And this joy, remember Nehemiah says, the joy of the Lord is your strength. When that joy is taken from us, we're weak, we're discouraged. But the joy of the Lord is our strength, and this unborn.
Baby joy leaps. For joy, John.
So, first of all, the visit by Mary. Secondly, A song by Mary.
So let's read. Versus Forty-six. Through fifty six. And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.
For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed. For he who is mighty has done great things for me. And holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He's brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He's filled the hungry with good things. And the rich, he sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever. And Mary remained with her about three months. and returned. to her home. A song of Mary.
This is first of all in verses 46 through 49, we have Mary's personal praise. No, I've got a lot of money. Bread the Magnificat, as it's often called, Did you notice how God-centered And scripture-centered is Mary's song.
Some of you are familiar with Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2 when God answers her prayer and she's going to give birth to little Samuel. She has this magnificent song in 1 Samuel 2, another great godly woman in the Old Testament, and they're very similar. We often call this the magnificat after the words in Latin. We know that the Bible. Was translated into Latin, being used by Christians who understood Latin obviously.
And this is called the Magnificat. Magnificat anima meo dominum. Dominum the Lord. Et exultavit spiritus meos in Deo salutare meo. Think of it.
Think of Mary. Saying, my soul. Magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. What does it mean to magnify the Lord? She is making the Lord great.
She is magnifying the Lord. Her prayer is that the Lord will be enlarged in her life. That she is making much of God, and her very spirit is rejoicing in God, her Savior. She acknowledges, verse 48, that she is... that the Lord has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
She said to Gabriel, I'm a servant of the Lord. The Lord has looked on the humble state of his service. Here is a woman. who has a very humble view. of herself.
A humble view of herself and a high view of God. That goes together, isn't it? Proud people have a high view of themselves and a low view of God. The more we look on ourselves, The more we look on our achievements, the prouder we become. The more we put ourselves at the center of our world, so that our world all becomes about us and what we've done, and what we will do, and our views, and our opinions, and look at all the things I have done, the more we do that.
the less we're magnifying. The Lord. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe and the start of a message on Mary's Song of Praise. Right now we're in a special Christmas series in the Book of Luke, and if you ever miss one of these daily messages, remember you can always catch up online at the verdict.org. And John has more to share in just a moment.
First, let me tell you about a resource that addresses one of the most important questions believers face. Can you lose your salvation once you've trusted Christ? It's a question that troubles many Christians, especially during difficult seasons of life. John has written a thoughtful booklet on this topic, called Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. In it, he carefully examines what Scripture teaches about God's grace and provides solid biblical encouragement for anyone struggling with their salvation.
And we're offering this booklet to you absolutely free. Just go to theverdict.org and request eternal security. And while you're on our website, you'll have the opportunity to play a part in what God is doing through the verdict with a simple one-time donation of any amount. You can easily give whatever amount you feel led to by visiting theverdict.org. And don't forget to subscribe to the Verdict podcast.
In addition to these programs, John has a weekly podcast called Avizandam, where he shares his personal thoughts on relevant topics like church and politics, the uniqueness of Israel, and how to engage the culture for Christ. You can hear it all by subscribing to the Verdict Podcast.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Whether you're a man or a woman, young or old, were created by God to glorify Him. How is your worship? Is it a task or a chore? Or Are you like these women, full of joy and praise, as you marvel at the wonder?
of salvation. Don't miss out on this joy of the Lord. which sustains us in all of the circumstances of life. Elizabeth and Mary were in unique situations. But I trust from your heart you're rejoicing in your spirit and glorifying God.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
